ENG41650 Expressions of Modernity

Academic Year 2022/2023

Expressions of Modernity: Victorian London

At the start of the nineteenth century London was the world’s largest city, with a population of more than a million, and by the early 1900s it had swollen to 6.5 million, roughly three times the size of Denmark or Norway. It was an increasingly diverse city, a magnet for internal and international migrants, including those fleeing famine in Ireland and persecution in the Russian Empire. Long a centre of trade and manufacture, London also became a financial and information giant, channelling investment in Britain’s sprawling empire, and acting as a news and publishing hub. Such dramatic changes – demographic, social, and economic – shaped and were shaped by cultural production. In this course we will look at some facets of the relationship between the Victorian metropolis and culture, including: London as a centre for journalism and publishing; representations of sex and sexuality in Victorian London; the London stage; popular culture; urban detective fiction; and Gothic images of London.
Authors will include such figures as: Charles Dickens, Henry Mayhew, W.T. Moncrieff, Charlotte Riddell, Baroness Orczy, Arthur Conan Doyle, E.W. Hornung, Olive Christian Malvery, and Hulda Friederichs.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all requirements for this module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of a wide range of writing on this course.
2. Identify and engage in key critical and theoretical debates.
3. Examine ways in which writing on this course is in dialogue with contemporary historical events.
4. Engage in class discussion and debate
5. Be able to write critically about literature's engagement with modernity.
6. Produce a critical essay informed by the one or more of the themes addressed in this module.
7. Understand the importance of engaging with the research of others

Indicative Module Content:

Authors will include such figures as: Charles Dickens, Henry Mayhew, W.T. Moncrieff, Charlotte Riddell, Baroness Orczy, Arthur Conan Doyle, E.W. Hornung, Olive Christian Malvery, and Hulda Friederichs.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Seminar (or Webinar)

18
Specified Learning Activities

91
Autonomous Student Learning

111
Total

220
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Teaching and Learning approaches in this module include active/task-based learning; peer and group work/feedback; critical writing; reflective learning; and theoretical debates. Seminars will usually include short overviews, group discussion, theoretical approaches, close-reading practice and/or student presentations. 
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
Continuous Assessment: Class contribution; short exercise Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

15
Essay: Final research essay (3,500 words). A wide variety of essay topics will be available and students will also have the option to design their own topic in consultation with the lecturers. Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

85

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, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students will have the option to receive informal feedback on essay proposals prior to their final essays. Students will have the opportunity to receive individual post-assessment feedback on their final essay. Students will engage in informal peer-review feedback exercises.

Name Role
Professor Fionnuala Dillane Lecturer / Co-Lecturer