| Unit name | Into the Unknown 1 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL10033 |
| Credit points | 10 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Tom Sperlinger |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The novel is a genre which enables readers to explore times and situations very different from the ones they inhabit and to enter imaginatively into the minds of other people. How is this achieved? We shall discuss authenticity and empathy in a variety of works. This unit aims to introduce students to these themes, in a wide variety of literature, and to offer an introduction to literary study at undergraduate level
Students will (i) have had an opportunity to explore a range of literary texts which, in various ways, explore the idea of the unknown – as reflected in different historical periods and/or in the unknowable nature of other people’s minds. As well as reflecting on this theme, students (ii) will have had the opportunity to gain a broad introduction to literary study and there will be further opportunities for study beyond this course, in the companion unit ‘Into the Unknown 2’, and in other courses offered on the School’s lifelong learning programme.
Seminars
This unit is designed to be comparable to the BA English Literature and Community Engagement in assessment methods, which therefore mirror those on 10-credit units within that programme. Assessment for this unit is normally undertaken through a seminar presentation of approximately 8-12 minutes and/or a short essay of between 1,500 and 2,000 words, in which students will address the particular issues raised in this unit (i) and demonstrate their developing awareness of the conventions of literary study (ii).
Turgenev, Fathers and Sons William Golding, The Inheritors J.L. Carr, A Month in the Country George Eliot, The Lifted Veil
