| Unit name | The Author as Character |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL20048 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. John McTague |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
No |
| Co-requisites |
No |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
As readers we may or may not feel the presence of an author when we read, and much critical ink has been spilt attempting to define, identify, locate, kill or detect the ghostly presence of the author. What happens, however, when a literary text contains its ‘author’ in a more literal sense, as a character operating in a fictional world? This unit approaches the history of authorship by focussing on texts either purporting to be written by fictional characters (by authors such as Defoe, Swift, Robinson, or Beckett) or featuring fictionalised versions of ‘real’ authorial figures (such as Chaucer, Lessing, Joyce, Roth): particular attention will be paid to texts that deliberately or mischievously blur those boundaries. As well as thinking about authorship, students will also explore the development of kinds of literary character: is the authorial-character a special category? Does it change according to historical context, genre, or material form? Are characters always authors of sorts?
Students will be given the opportunity to submit a draft or outline of their final, summative essay of up to 1,000 words and to receive feedback on this.
On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:
(1) demonstrate a detailed knowledge and critical understanding of literary works from across literary history and aspects of the history of authorship and characterization;
(2) show an in-depth knowledge of some of the literary and historical contexts in which this literature was produced;
(3) analyse and evaluate differing critical accounts of the primary literature;
(4) identify and evaluate pertinent evidence in order to illustrate/demonstrate a cogent argument;
5) demonstrate skills in argumentation and academic writing, appropriate to level I/5.
1 x 2 hour seminar per week
1 x 3500 word summative essay (100%) ILOs 1-5.
Aphra Behn, Oroonoko (1688)
Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook (1962)
Elnathan John, Born on a Tuesday (2015)
Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric (2014)
