MA English Literature and American Studies

The course will introduce you to the ways in which different texts – novels, poems, as well as critical and theoretical pieces – engage with place and space. We will raise questions of emplacement and displacement, thinking about one’s ‘right to place’ – the right to be in place, to have a home – and the politics of moving (or having to move) around. Far from being understood merely as objective background, a simply neutral setting in which people and objects are positioned, place will emerge in this course as a construct, and as a deeply political concept. In a world increasingly aware of the perils of anthropocentrism and of climate catastrophe, we will, as we go on, continue to consider about the politics of place as we begin moving away from the centrality of the human so we can pay attention to the place of the non-human.  We will, then, look at human-animal entanglements, and think about the ways in which such entanglements emerge from a world colonised by capitalism. And we will turn to vegetal life, too, to think about the place of plants, and, in this move away from the human and toward smallness, thinking about moss and lichen.

Students taking this course unit must also take The Times of Literature OR American Studies: Theory, Methods, Practice

• Understanding of the multiple ways in which literary change is shaped by ‘space’ - figuratively and literally;
• Knowledge of the relationships between literature and other cultural practices related to spatial imaginaries;
• Familiarity with a range of spatial theories, from premodern to contemporary;

• Develop independently (in discussion with course director) an essay topic based on material covered on the course;
• Familiarity with key theoretical debates and concepts in literary studies;
• Ability to analyse literary and theoretical texts;
• Demonstrate enhanced skills of written and verbal communication, analysis, and argument

• develop a clear, coherent academic writing style
• concisely summarise complex arguments
• good research skills
• good critical thinking
• ability to articulate ideas clearly, in oral and written form

• contribute effectively to  discussions;
• develop listening skills through group work;
• develop confidence in written communication, by researching and constructing strong and well-founded arguments
• carry out independent research
• time management skills
• Use library resources effectively

Formative feedback via development of appropriate research question by individual students through dedicated group discussions (1 hour per week in the final 4-5 weeks of course). Question must be finalised by week 10.

Summative feedback on essays

Indicative Texts:

•       Michel De Certeau,The Practice of Everyday Life, trans. by Steve Rendell (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984), esp. Ch 9: ‘Spatial Stories’.

• Amitav Ghosh, The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016).

•       Henri Lefebvre,The Production of Space, trans by Donald Nicholson-Smith (Oxford: Blackwell, 1991), esp. Ch. 2: Social Space

•       • Gaston Bachelard, Introduction toThe Poetics of Space, trans. by Maria Jolas (Massachussetts: Beacon Press, 1994), pp. xv-xxxix.

This course will include the study of primary texts covering range of literary forms (such as, for example: poetry, essay, travel writing, novel). These vary from year to year.