Undergraduate Course: Edinburgh in Fiction/Fiction in Edinburgh (ENLI10310)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will examine the city in history as represented in fiction in the particular case of Edinburgh, from the historical fiction of Scott, Hogg and Stevenson to the genre fiction of the last two decades. It will examine the construction of the city in these texts as a site of legal, religious, economic and cultural discourse. The extent to which civic identity both contributes to and competes with national identity will be a central theme, as will the internal division of the city along lines of religion, gender, and, especially, class. |
| Course description |
This course will explore the unique status of Edinburgh in the literary imagination,
considering fictional versions of the city from the late eighteenth century to the
present. We will investigate how the qualities of Edinburgh are adapted to suit the
conventions of different literary genres, from the historical fiction of Scott, Hogg, and
Stevenson to Muriel Spark, Irvine Welsh, and Ian Rankin. We will examine how
Edinburgh functions in these texts as a cultural, religious, economic, and legal centre,
while also reflecting on its vexed relationship to the larger political entities of
Scotland and the United Kingdom. In this way, our course will trace how ideas of the
urban are discursively constructed, situating Edinburgh in relation to a broader
tradition of writing about 'the city' in literature. Mapping the varied topography of
Edinburgh in these texts and following its architectural, social, and political
transformations, we will assess how these authors approach recurring themes
relating to class, gender, sexuality, race, and faith.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | A MINIMUM of 4 college/university level literature courses at grade B or above (should include no more than one introductory level literature course). Related courses such as cross disciplinary, "Freshman Seminars", civilisation or creative writing classes are not considered for admission to this course.
Applicants should also note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. In making admissions decisions preference will be given to students who achieve above the minimum requirement with the typical visiting student admitted to this course
having four or more literature classes at grade A.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course **
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| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 15 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% coursework:
30% 2,000 word course essay
70% 3,000 word final essay
|
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- In addition to the skills training common to all English Literature Honours courses (essay-writing, independent reading, group discussion, oral presentation, small-group autonomous learning) this course aims to develop the student's understanding of
- (i) the ways in which urban space is constructed in the various discourses of the novel as a genre;
- (ii) the relation of civic identities to national identities as the novel brings them into relation;
- (iii) a broad understanding of the history of the novel in Scotland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
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Reading List
James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (Oxford World's Classics, 2010)
Jackie Kay, Trumpet (Picador Classics, 2016)
Eric Linklater, Magnus Merriman (Canongate, 2001)
Ian Rankin, The Falls (Orion, 2008)
Walter Scott, The Heart of Midlothian (Oxford World's Classics, 2008)
Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Penguin Modern Classics, 2000)
Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped (Oxford World's Classics, 2014)
Strachan, Zoe, ed. Out There: An Anthology of Scottish LGBT Writing (Freight Books, 2014)
Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting (Vintage, 1994)
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Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Madeline Potter
Tel:
Email: mpotter3@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Hope Hamilton
Tel: (0131 6)50 4167
Email: hope.hamilton@ed.ac.uk |
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