Module Details

The information contained in this module specification was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change, either during the session because of unforeseen circumstances, or following review of the module at the end of the session. Queries about the module should be directed to the member of staff with responsibility for the module.
Title ALL POINTS NORTH: LITERATURE AND THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, 1840-PRESENT
Code ENGL391
Coordinator Dr MPA Davies
Molecular & Clinical Cancer Medicine
Michael.Davies@liverpool.ac.uk
Year CATS Level Semester CATS Value
Session 2022-23 Level 6 FHEQ First Semester 15

Aims

To introduce students to a broad range of ‘Northern’ texts (fiction, autobiography, poetry, drama, and film), and to consider literary 'Northernness' across its range and breadth, from the 1840s to the present. To examine how life in ‘The North’ is represented in literature, what stereotypes stand within it, and how they are treated by writers. To address ‘regionalism’, and how ‘regional identity’ is figured in English literature. To assess the social and political issues surrounding ‘Northern’ writers and their works over the last century and a half, in terms of class, gender, region, and ethnicity.


Learning Outcomes

(LO1) Acquire, develop, and demonstrate knowledge of the literary culture of the North of England (its writers, its forms, its issues) from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.

(LO2) Recognise literature’s relation to ‘regionalism’ and the concerns surrounding literature from or about the North of England (e.g. in terms of social change, industrialisation, class, gender, and ethnicity).

(LO3) Research, read, and think both independently and sensitively about the works studied at a specialised level.

(LO4) Assess and discuss some of the key critical debates related to this module's texts, authors, and topics. 

(LO5) Analyse and discuss a range of texts (fiction, drama, poetry, autobiography) in terms of their literary style, significance, and contexts, putting into practice advanced skills in textual analysis, critical reading, and writing.

(LO6) Evaluate and communicate both your own and others’ ideas.

(S1) Written communication skills (style & argument, presentation & referencing)

(S2) Oral communication skills (speaking, listening, arguing, persuading)

(S3) Critical thinking and analytical skills

(S4) Project planning & development

(S5) Time management, discipline, & organisation

(S6) Team working & co-operating/communicating with others

(S7) Research skills (including identification and use of Library resources, and accessing online databases/research tools)

(S8) IT skills (including word processing and the use of online resources and electronic media)


Syllabus

 

This module will examine a selection of works set in the North of England written between the mid-nineteenth century and the present, encompassing a variety of literary forms and genres.  Following a broadly chronological structure, students will typically study the following subjects and texts: The Victorian North: Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights , and the industrial north of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton Northern Drama: Harold Brighouse’s Hobson’s Choice and Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey The 1930s and the ‘Great Depression’: George Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier Northern ‘realist’ fiction and cinema of the 1950s and ’60s: Keith Waterhouse’s Billy Liar and Barry Hines’s A Kestrel for a Knave , or Kes ( the title of Ken Loach’s acclaimed film) Literature and the ‘post-industrial’ north of the 1980s and 1990s: from the poetry of Tony Harrison and Simon Ar mitage, to the stage-plays and films, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice  by Jim Cartwright and Ayub Khan-Din's East is East . Students are also encouraged to explore the writings of other authors not covered in the seminars, by way of preparation for the assessed essay, and to evaluate the merits of film adaptations of the core texts, where possible/available.


Teaching and Learning Strategies

Teaching Method 1 - Seminar
Description:
Attendance Recorded: Not yet decided
Notes: The purpose of the seminars is to engage students in detailed discussion of the texts (one text per week), examining them in relation to specific issues (literary and critical, textual and contextual). These discussions require input, dialogue, and debate from all students involved. They are aimed at clarifying and developing a sophisticated understanding of each text within the framework of the module as a whole. They also provide important preparation, as well as help and guidance, for the module's assessment.

Teaching Method 2 - Group Project
Description:
Attendance Recorded: Not yet decided
Notes: Small Group Discussion Meetings: in groups of 3 or 4, students will be required to meet each week, for at least 30 mins, in order to discuss and debate independently that week's text/topic, in advance of the seminar discussion.

Teaching Method 3 - Othe r
Description:
Attendance Recorded: Not yet decided
Notes: Consultation Time: weekly 'drop-in' availability during office hours, as advertised each semester, or by arrangement.


Teaching Schedule

  Lectures Seminars Tutorials Lab Practicals Fieldwork Placement Other TOTAL
Study Hours   22

      5.5

1

28.5
Timetable (if known)              
Private Study 121.5
TOTAL HOURS 150

Assessment

EXAM Duration Timing
(Semester)
% of
final
mark
Resit/resubmission
opportunity
Penalty for late
submission
Notes
             
CONTINUOUS Duration Timing
(Semester)
% of
final
mark
Resit/resubmission
opportunity
Penalty for late
submission
Notes
Assessment 1 There is a resit opportunity. Standard UoL penalty applies for late submission. Assessment Schedule (When) :Semester 1    100       

Recommended Texts

Reading lists are managed at readinglists.liverpool.ac.uk. Click here to access the reading lists for this module.