Undergraduate Course: Banned Books: Novels which have Courted Controversy (LLLG07071)
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 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
Home subject area | Lifelong Learning (LLC) |
Other subject area | None |
Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
Course description | THIS IS A FOR-CREDIT COURSE OFFERED BY THE OFFICE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING (OLL); ONLY STUDENTS REGISTERED WITH OLL SHOULD BE ENROLLED.
This course discusses novels that have caused controversy. We will look at each of the novels in context, considering how contemporary readers responded to them. The reading list includes novels which shocked readers because of their treatment of issues like war and slavery or their use of profanity. We will also consider works that depict a society of the future whose horrors did not seem far away enough from the present. We will think about whether these novels really are fundamentally controversial or simply challenge the social and political mores of their times. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
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Delivery period: 2014/15 Lifelong Learning - Session 3, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Learn enabled: No |
Quota: None |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
Course Start Date |
13/04/2015 |
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
78 )
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Additional Notes |
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Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
* confidently discuss texts.
* assess literature based on close reading.
* place literature in its historical context.
* understand the various issues which affect the critical and public response to novels.
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Assessment Information
One 2000 word essay submitted after the courses finishes, worth 100% of the total course mark. |
Special Arrangements
None |
Additional Information
Academic description |
Not entered |
Syllabus |
Week 1 and Week 2: Confronting the past: Toni Morrison's 'spiteful venom' on slavery.
Text: Toni Morrison: Beloved
Week 3 and Week 4: Offending the sensibilities of the Booker judges: Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting.
Text: Irvine Welsh: Trainspotting
Week 5 and Week 6: Satirising wartime bureaucracy: Heller's Catch 22.
Text: Joseph Heller: Catch 22
Week 7 and Week 8: Envisioning a future which was a bit too much like the present: Atwood's Handmaid's Tale
Text: Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale
Week 9 and Week 10: 'Promoting euthanasia'? John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.
Text: John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men
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Transferable skills |
* Close critical reading of passages from texts.
* Small group working.
* Setting literature in historical, social and political context.
* Advance preparation of material for class including work for essays and class discussion.
* Wide reading. Students will be encouraged to work around the subject by reading other relevant secondary material. |
Reading list |
Essential:
Morrison. Toni. 1997. Beloved. London: Vintage.
Welsh, Irvine. 1994. Trainspotting. London: Vintage.
Heller, Joseph. 2011. Catch 22. London: Vintage.
Atwood, Margaret. 1996. The Handmaid's Tale. London: Vintage.
Steinbeck, John. 2006. Of Mice and Men. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Recommended:
Mullan, John. 2008. How Novels Work. OUP, Oxford. |
Study Abroad |
Not entered |
Study Pattern |
Not entered |
Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Anya Clayworth
Tel:
Email: aclaywor@staffmail.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Sabine Murdoch
Tel: (0131 6)51 1855
Email: Sabine.Murdoch@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 29 August 2014 4:19 am
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