PHIL20570 Philosophy & Literature

Academic Year 2024/2025

This module explores the intersections of philosophy and literature in the areas of alienation, dislocation and the post-human. By bringing major works of literature into conversation with key philosophical texts, the course interrogates our imagination and articulation of the human condition as well as the idea of the monstrous. We will study four to five key literary texts in conversation with shorter weekly philosophical readings. The module invites students to consider how philosophy and literature offer different perspectives on questions of empathy, narcissism and the self, and how the construction of the self depends on a projection of the other. Students will develop their existing critical skills to examine the formation of identity and power structures in different cultural contexts, thinking about how human/non-human binaries affect the development of the subject in economic and political systems. The course encourages students to think of diverse cultural ideas of the monstrous, and how these different images operate in different forms of discourse.

This module will be co-taught by Assoc. Professor Clare Hayes-Brady (English) and Assoc. Professor Danielle Petherbridge (Philosophy)

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On succcessful completion of the module, a student should be able to :
- Describe and analyze the primary themes and contexts of the module.
- Examine and explore cultural exchange between fiction and philosophy.
- Engage with ideas of subjectivity, alienation and the notion of the human as well as relevant critical discourses.
- Use a range of academic and creative tools to synthesize, assimilate and present information.
- Engage in academic debate, written and verbal, at an appropriate level of critical rigour.
- Employ transferable skills of research, analytical and writing skills in relation to chosen topics.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Autonomous Student Learning

93
Lectures

24
Tutorial

8
Total

125
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures, tutorials, independent learning, feedback on assignments.








 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Assignment(Including Essay): Creative Dialogue n/a Graded Yes

35
Participation in Learning Activities: Participation in Tutorials n/a Graded No

15
Assignment(Including Essay): Final Essay n/a Graded Yes

50

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be given to individual students post-assessment.

Name Role
Jennifer Gouck Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Clare Hayes-Brady Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Mr Jason O'Toole Lecturer / Co-Lecturer