| Unit name | Writing in the Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Uranium |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGLM0067 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Pite |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
‘Writing in the Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Uranium’ responds to the current emergence of elemental writing and ecocriticism – creative and critical literature, that is, which engages with the natural world through a focus on the elements – either the four elements of classical and renaissance worlds, or those of modern science. From attending to these, new perspectives emerge on the material world, on human beings’ relation to and participation in the material world, on the mythical, the scientific and the relationship between them, and on how writing may bring the elemental into the cultural. The course of seminars will range across periods and topics, including earth writing, nuclear fictions, literature from liminal and marginal territories. Poetry by Alice Oswald will be discussed alongside essays by Wes Jackson and the nature writing of Barbara Hurd. There may be an opportunity to further enquiry into the elements via a field trip.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. apply an understanding of elemental ecocriticism to issues articulated in literary texts;
2. situate readings informed by elemental ecocriticism alongside other critical views (such as posthumanism, the new materialism and the new historicism);
3. identify and present pertinent evidence to develop a cogent argument in an academic essay appropriate to level M
4. reflect, via a piece of creative / personal writing, on the impact of elemental ecocriticism on their perception of the natural world
5. Present findings in a coherent and communicable form orally.
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities. These can include seminars, lectures, class discussion, formative tasks, small group work, and self-directed exercises.
Tasks which do not count towards your unit mark but are required for credit (zero-weighted)
1,000 word presentation (0%, required for credit) [ILO 5]
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
4,000 word essay (100%) [ILOs 1-4]
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ENGLM0067).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
