Undergraduate Course: Literary Studies 1B (ENLI08021)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Prose may appear so familiar as not to need any further introduction and yet it traverses the line between 'fact' and 'fiction,' encapsulates a wide variety of forms and fulfills a remarkable range of functions; for example, from a tag line through the short story to serial novels or from fantasy fiction to political polemic. Indeed, most critical debates within the field of literary studies, as well as the assessment of most of our courses, take place in prose form (usually essays). This course will explore the key terms and concepts needed to analyse prose texts critically and develop your own writing and bibliographical skills. |
| Course description |
On this course you will be encouraged to develop your close-reading skills in the genre of prose (fictional and non-fictional). You will be introduced to some key concepts in literary criticism (e.g., narration, intentionality, habits of reading) and acquire the associated specialist terminology needed to identify and explain how a literary text engages with accepted conventions. While some texts will be studied in full, lectures and tutorials will draw on a variety of examples by writers from diverse backgrounds to ensure you are encouraged to reflect on how diverse experiences and context affect the discussion of authorship and readership. Lectures will provide you with appropriate terminology and demonstrate how this is used in practice; to consolidate your understanding, you will undertake regular exercises both individually and in small groups to prepare for broader discussion in weekly hour-long tutorials and engage with quizzes that will test your acquisition of technical vocabulary. In your final assessments, you will be expected to demonstrate how you can reflect upon and apply what you have learned by producing a close reading of a prose extract, and an essay on the theory and practice of prose.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Literary Studies 1A (ENLI08020)
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Course Texts |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 420 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
163 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework Essay on Performance (1,600 words; take-home, time-limited assessment) (40%) (LO 1, 2, 3)
Final 2-hour Examination (60%) (LO 2, 3, 4) |
| Feedback |
Autonomous Learning Group Activities (weekly); Weekly individual preparation exercises |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Literary Studies 1B | 120 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and employ literary critical terms to analyse performance
- Produce critical close readings that demonstrate an understanding of genre and varieties of form
- Provide evidence to critically evaluate how texts and performances produce different effects
- Engage with relevant critical debates when examining formal issues in texts and performances
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Communication skills (verbal and written); interpersonal skills; critical thinking; team working; independent learning and development. |
| Keywords | Literary studies,narrative,fiction and non-fiction,close reading,technical language |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Simon Cooke
Tel: (0131 6)51 3996
Email: Simon.Cooke@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Lina Gordyshevskaya
Tel:
Email: pgordysh@ed.ac.uk |
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