Postgraduate Course: Mystery and Horror (ENLI11074)
Course Outline
| School |
School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College |
College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits |
20 |
| Home subject area |
English Literature |
Other subject area |
None |
| Course website |
None |
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| Course description |
The course covers popular fiction of the late 19th and late 20th centuries, look both at genre and history. The course compares texts from both periods, focusing on the figures of the detective, the spy, the serial killer and the scientist. Texts include, for example, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Dracula, The Secret Agent, The Silence of the Lambs and Jurassic Park. In class we will discuss issues of ideology, genre, gender, the unconscious, and the history of surveillance. An element of the course includes Scottish mystery fiction (Conan Doyle, Ian Rankin, R. L Stevenson) and is suitable for students taking a degree including Scottish literature.
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Entry Requirements
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites |
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| Prohibited Combinations |
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Other requirements |
None
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| Additional Costs |
None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 2, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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WebCT enabled: No |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | | 1-11 | | 10:00 - 12:00 | | | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| Additional information |
1 hour(s) per week for 10 week(s). |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
The course introduces students to the study of popular fiction as it both contributes to and is produced by ideology. The comparison of generically-linked texts from either end of the twentieth century encourages discussion of the changes in social history of the period.
The chosen texts guide students into a basic understanding of important theoretical ideas: the unconscious, post-Marxist concepts of ideology, Foucauldian ideas about surveillance and power. The course encourages discussion of a wider range of film and general reading and an understanding of students' own cultural environment.
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Assessment Information
| One 4,000 word essay to be submitted as specified in the programme hand book or by the supervisor |
Special Arrangements
| Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser |
Dr Penny Fielding
Tel: (0131 6)50 3609
Email: Penny.Fielding@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary |
Mrs Kate Marshall
Tel: (0131 6)50 4114
Email: Kate.Marshall@ed.ac.uk |
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copyright 2010 The University of Edinburgh -
1 September 2010 6:01 am
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