Modern Scottish Fiction (P00436)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : LLC-P-P00436

This course will explore the development of modern Scottish fiction from the 1980s to the present, looking at the relationship of the novels both to the traditions of Scottish writing and to issues raised by postmodernism and postcolonialism. In particular, we explore the development of various formal strategies by Scottish novelists to deal with the specific historical and cultural problems posed by trying to narrate a society which does not have an autonomous political or social narrative to provide a pattern for novelistic emplotment.

Entry Requirements

? Costs : Purchase of essential texts as required.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

English Literature, (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, Schedule G)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 2 hour(s) per week for 1 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will gain an understanding of the contemporary Scottish novel that enables them to relate to a discussion of its various generic modes, forms, styles, voices and locations to specific sets of socio-cultural and political contexts. In particular they will be able to map the role played by contemporary fiction in helping to devolve and reclaim identities and histories repressed by the incorporation of Scotland within an overarching Britishness. However, they will also be able to question the notion of a unitary national identity through reference to a series of dynamics concerning gender, sexuality, class, race, place and social demographics. In the context of a new post-devolutionary Scotland, students will have learned that the novel as a cultural and political form is not merely concerned with nation-building but also with the release of other emancipatory energies, such as class or gender, that contribute to the establishment of a more equitable civic and public space in contemporary Scottish society. In doing so, they will have reached an understanding of a broad range of both canonical and lesser known Scottish novelists that equips them with a comprehensive overview of modern Scottish fiction.