Unit information: Introduction to Literature and Community Engagement 2 in 2016/17

Unit name	Introduction to Literature and Community Engagement 2
Unit code	ENGL10049
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Gareth Griffith
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of English
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit is designed to enable each student to establish a community engagement project, such as a reading group, in the community or at their place of work, either on their own or in collaboration with an/other student/s. Students will be assisted in finding a suitable placement and will then complete a series of directed tasks related to publicity, finding and/or producing appropriate resources, participatory methods and approaches, managing a reading group session or similar, and liaising with staff and/or volunteers within a community setting. Students will be offered training on managing difficult situations.

Aims:

This unit aims to enable each student to establish a community engagement project in a suitable placement (either on their own or in collaboration with another student), and to prepare for and encounter issues such as recruiting and retaining readers, choosing appropriate materials, running a session, and relating theoretical issues from literary study to the use of literature in a practical setting.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to demonstrate:

1) the ability to establish a reading group in a suitable placement

2) the ability to put into practice the reflective ideas gathered in 'Introduction to Literature and Community Engagement 1'.

Teaching Information

Through the year:

5 x 3-hour seminars

2 x 4.5-hour dayschools

1 x 4.5 hour conference

1 x 1-hour one-to-one meeting with tutor.

Assessment Information

1 x reflective diary (4000 words) (ILOs 1-2)

Reading and References

A range of relevant materials will be provided, some from external partners. Additional reading may include:

• Susan Danielson and Ann Marie Fallon, Community-Based Learning and the Work of Literature (Wiley, 2008).
• Philip Davis, Reading and The Reader (Oxford University Press, 2014).
• bell hooks, Teaching Community (Routledge, 2003).