| Unit name | Literature and the Sea: The Seafarer to The Shipping News |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL20020 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Publicover |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None. |
| Co-requisites |
None. |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
From The Odyssey onwards, the sea has afforded inspiration for a rich and strange sub-genre of literature: poems, plays, and novels have contemplated the sea’s mystery and depth; recorded the terrors and excitements of voyaging across its surface; and attempted to understand its attractions. Additionally, when authors confront the secretive, alien, and unfathomable oceans, they often do so in order to ask questions about themselves.
On this unit, which engages a cutting-edge area of critical study (sometimes dubbed ‘The New Thalassology’), we will examine some of the finest sea-writing in English. Beginning within the medieval period, and moving chronologically through Shakespearean drama, Romantic poetry, nineteenth-century novels, and twentieth-century texts, we will study with writers who, despite being in many respects very different, share a fascination with, and a desire to understand, the sea. Authors covered will include Shakespeare, Marvell, Byron, Coleridge, Melville, Tennyson, Conrad, T.S. Eliot, Plath, Rich, and Proulx.
On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:
(1) demonstrate a detailed knowledge and critical understanding of writing about the sea;
(2) show an in-depth understanding of recent literary-critical thought on the sea, especially in connection with eco-criticism;
(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
Teaching will involve asynchronous and synchronous elements, including group discussion, research and writing activities, and peer dialogue. Students are expected to engage with the reading and participate fully with the weekly tasks and topics. Learning will be further supported through the opportunity for individual consultation.
Students will be given the opportunity to submit a draft or outline of their final, summative essay of up to 1,500 words and to receive feedback on this.
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. ENGL20020).
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 Faculty 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. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
