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ENG10230

Academic Year 2026/2027

Reading World Literature (ENG10230)

Subject:
English
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
English, Drama & Film
Level:
1 (Introductory)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Treasa De Loughry
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

“Texts have ways of existing that even in their most rarefied form are always enmeshed in circumstance, time, place, and society – in short, they are in the world, and hence worldly” – Edward Said.

What does it mean to read literature as ‘worldly,’ and how do world-literary texts shape our understanding of the world? Reading World Literature will explore the category of 'world literature': what it means to read texts in the 'world language' of English; how forms and aesthetics ‘travel’ and change in different cultures and geographies across historical periods; and how literature grapples with world-spanning phenomena such as slavery, empire, resource imperialism, decolonization, and capitalist globalization. Ranging from the gold mines of colonial Africa and South America to the contemporary oilfields of the Niger Delta, this module will investigate writing from multiple periods and geographies, including the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and Britain, and will feature texts from across literary genres, including novels, autobiographies, poetry, short stories, and travel writing. Through lectures and tutorials, we will examine both pre-twentieth century canonical texts, and contemporary fictions that ‘write back’ to empire, subvert dominant forms , or invent new modes of representation.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module, students will have developed:
- The ability to analyse passages of literary texts for their aesthetic engagement with global phenomenon including slavery, empire, settler colonialism, resource imperialism, decolonization, and capitalist globalization;
- The acquisition of basic skills in academic research, study, and writing, as well as the confidence to write and speak more confidently on topics relating to works of world literature;
- An awareness of how different kinds of literary texts can be interpreted through a variety of critical lenses, including postcolonial and world-literary theory;
- The ability to use key electronic resources such as online journals, databases, and Brightspace

Indicative Module Content:

Ranging from the gold mines of colonial Africa and South America to the contemporary oilfields of the Niger Delta, this module will investigate writing from multiple periods and geographies, including the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and Britain, and will feature texts from across literary genres, including novels, autobiographies, poetry, short stories, and travel writing.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Advanced Beginner

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Advanced Beginner

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Advanced Beginner

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Novice

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Novice

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Advanced Beginner

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Advanced Beginner

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Advanced Beginner

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Novice

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Advanced Beginner

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Advanced Beginner

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

End poverty in all its forms everywhere 1

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages 1

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 1

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 1

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 1

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 1

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all 1

Reduce inequality within and among countries 1

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 1

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 1

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 1

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss 1

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 1
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

36
Autonomous Student Learning

42
Lectures

11
Tutorial

11
Total

100

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Teaching is by a weekly lecture and small-group seminar. Lectures will introduce literary, historical and/or theoretical contexts as well as discussion of specific authors and works, while seminars will involve closer discussion of the texts themselves.

Module policy on the use of AI:
AI Not Permitted. The use of AI tools is not permitted in this module. Students are expected to engage directly with module materials and activities without the use of AI tools.

Moderation:
A proportion of written assignments in each module in the School of English, Drama and Film are subject to moderation, meaning they undergo a second layer of review by another grader. This is to promote consistency within and between modules in the same level and discipline.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Exam (In-person): In-person exam. Students will be required to provide essay-style responses to set questions. Date and time TBC. Exam will occur during Week 14-15 of term End of trimester
Duration:
2 hr(s)
 Graded No
50
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Close reading assignment (500 words). Choose one of the given passages from the three core texts studied in weeks 2-5. Week 9 Graded No
30
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: Short exercise i) identifying key literary devices/terms; ii) locating definitions of terms in online reference resource; locating examples of their use in texts studies so far. Week 4 Graded No
10
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: Short exercise on key aspects of academic writing/argument. Week 7 Graded No
10
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring 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?

The weekly exercises will receive group/class feedback; and individual feedback on the written essays will be given via Brightspace.

Please find a list of the primary texts for this module below, in the order that they are assigned. We recommend you start reading Rider Haggard's novel, King Solomon's Mines, in advance of the first class. Texts that you are responsible for buying yourself, either online or by ordering from a bookshop (like the Campus Bookshop), are labelled 'to buy' - there are 3 of these in total, by Rider Haggard, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, and Adania Shibli. Please acquire these before the start of term. All other readings will be provided as .pdfs or links on Brightspace, the virtual learning environment for this module; and longer texts are also available from the library.

Primary Texts in Order of Reading (2026/27):

- Rider Haggard, King Solomon’s Mines (to buy)
- Selected poetry from Selina Tusitala Marsh (.pdfs on Brightspace)
- Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (link on Brightspace)
- William Shakespeare, The Tempest (link on Brightspace)
- Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, A Grain of Wheat (to buy)
- Short stories by Ben Okri and Nnedi Okorafor (.pdfs on Brightspace)
- Selected poetry from Juliana Spahr and Robert Minhinnick (.pdfs on Brightspace)
- Adania Shibli, Minor Detail (to buy)

Name Role
Assoc Professor Sarah Comyn Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Professor Nicholas Daly Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Treasa De Loughry Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Sharae Deckard Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Professor Fionnuala Dillane Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Harriet Hulme Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Naomi McAreavey Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Anne Mulhall Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Mr Mark Ronan Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Maria Stuart Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Nerys Williams Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Melissa Alexander Tutor
Mr Niels Caul Tutor
Ms Anna Graham Tutor
Mr Pearse McCaughey Tutor
Dr Tapasya Narang Tutor
Dr Salome Paul Tutor

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Wed 15:00 - 15:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 10:00 - 10:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 13:00 - 13:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 3 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Tues 12:00 - 12:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 5 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 10:00 - 10:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 6 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 10:00 - 10:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 7 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 11:00 - 11:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 8 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 13:00 - 13:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 9 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Tues 13:00 - 13:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 10 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Tues 11:00 - 11:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 11 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Tues 12:00 - 12:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 12 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 12:00 - 12:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 13 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Tues 11:00 - 11:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 14 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Tues 11:00 - 11:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 15 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 12:00 - 12:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 16 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 12:00 - 12:50
Autumn Workshop Offering 17 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 13:00 - 13:50
Autumn Tutorial Offering 18 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Tues 13:00 - 13:50
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