English and American Literature (Paris)

Course Structure

1. One Paris module from your own subject area (compulsory).
2. The second module can be taken from the selection of Paris modules available.
3. American Modernism 1900-1930
4. Hacks, Dunces and Scribblers: Authorship and the Marketplace in the Eig
5. Colonial and Postcolonial Discourses
6. Literature and Theory
7. Paris: Reality and Representation
8. extend and deepen through coursework and research your understanding of a body of literatures in English, with special emphasis on modern and postcolonial literatures, and on literary and critical theory
9. enable you to develop an historical awareness of literary traditions
10. develop your independent critical thinking and judgement
11. introduce you to bibliographic method and scholarship and to foster in you the research methods that facilitate advanced literary study
12. provide a basis in knowledge and skills if you intend to teach English and American literature, especially in higher education
13. develop your understanding and critical appreciation of the expressive resources of language
14. offer opportunities for you to develop your potential for creative writing (where such a module is taken)
15. offer scope for the study of literature within an interdisciplinary context, notably that provided by history
16. develop your ability to argue a point of view with clarity and cogency, both orally and in written form
17. develop your knowledge and understanding of relevant aspects of contemporary Paris and the cultural history of the city as reflected in modern European, English and American literatures and other artistic media.
18. authors and texts from British, American and postcolonial literatures
19. the principal literary genres, fiction, poetry drama and of other kinds of writing and communication
20. literatures in English from countries outside Britain and America
21. Modernism as an international movement in literature and art and the role of Paris as a site of modernist experimentation
22. the cultural history of modern Paris, as reflected in art and literature
23. traditions in literary criticism
24. terminology used in literary criticism
25. the cultural and historical contexts in which literature is written, published and read
26. critical theory and its applications
27. literary criticism as a practice subject to considerable variation of approach
28. inter- and multidisciplinary approaches to the advanced study of literature
29. research methods.
30. the application of the skills needed for advanced academic study and enquiry
31. the evaluation of research findings
32. the ability to synthesise information from a number of sources in order to gain a coherent understanding of theory and practice
33. the ability to make discriminations and selections of relevant information from a wide source and large body of knowledge
34. the exercise of problem-solving skills
35. adaptation skills: learning to work in different environments by adapting to the educational, cultural and professional environments of England and France, while adopting an interdisciplinary approach to literary studies.
36. enhanced skills in the close critical analysis of literary texts
37. informed critical understanding of the variety of critical and theoretical approaches to the study of literature
38. the ability to articulate knowledge and understanding of texts, concepts and theories relating to advanced English studies
39. sensitivity to generic conventions in the study of literature
40. well-developed linguistic resourcefulness, including a grasp of standard critical terminology
41. articulate responsiveness to literary language
42. appropriate scholarly practice in the presentation of formal written work, in particular in bibliographic and annotational practices
43. an understanding of how cultural norms and assumptions influence questions of judgement
44. knowledge of French and European culture and literature
45. knowledge of the cultural development of modern Paris, as expressed in literature and art.
46. developed powers of communication and the capacity to argue a point of view orally and written form, with clarity, organisation, cogency and sophistication
47. enhanced confidence in the efficient presentation of ideas designed to stimulate critical debate
48. developed critical acumen
49. the ability to assimilate and organise substantial quantities of complex information
50. competence in the planning and execution of essays and project-work
51. the capacity for independent thought, reasoned judgement, and self-criticism
52. enhanced skills in collaborative intellectual work
53. the ability to understand, interrogate and apply a variety of theoretical positions and weigh the importance of alternative perspectives
54. research skills, including scholarly information retrieval skills
55. IT skills: word-processing, the ability to access electronic data
56. living and working in diverse cultural environments: you will participate and work in academic communities in both Canterbury and Paris. You will thus develop cultural knowledge and understanding, flexibility, imagination, resourcefulness and tolerance.