Show/hide contentOpenClose All
Curricular information is subject to change
On completion of this module students should be able to:
- Read, comprehend and enjoy short German-language texts, summarising and analysing their main themes, characters, stylistic and rhetorical features in English
- Differentiate the main features of short literary genres (poems and short stories)
- Develop a catalogue of questions to aid their comprehension and analysis of short literary texts
- Demonstrate awareness of the role that historical context plays for literary texts
- Understand more readily short mini-lectures in German
- Write a close analysis in English of a short literary text, in an appropriate register and style
- Collaborate with another student on an assignment (in English) discussing an allocated literary text not previously studied
- Write creative responses in German to literary texts
The module is divided into 4 different thematic blocks:
- Language and communication
- Relationships and conflict
- Growing up, ageing, issues of identity and gender
- Heimat: belonging, inclusion and exclusion
The focus is on short literary texts (prose and poetry) from different historical periods, but mainly the 20th and 21st centuries, written by a range of authors from the German-speaking countries. Strategies to develop and practise close reading and analysis will be employed, and we will look at the different stylistic and rhetorical features in the texts. We will also be doing some short pieces of creative writing as responses to the texts.
All of the texts and supporting material including guiding reading questions will be made available on Brightspace.
| Student Effort Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Seminar (or Webinar) | 20 |
| Specified Learning Activities | 38 |
| Autonomous Student Learning | 50 |
| Total | 108 |
Not applicable to this module.
| Description | Timing | Component Scale | % of Final Grade | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group Project: Presentation (in pairs) on an allocated story, answering specific questions. These will take place on the last Friday class. | Week 12 | n/a | Graded | No | 50 |
| Essay: Commentary and critical analysis of poem, ca. 1,200 words in English, answering specific questions. | Week 7 | n/a | Graded | No | 40 |
| Journal: Reflective online journal entries (1 every 2 weeks) to chart and comment on the learning process | Throughout the Trimester | n/a | Other | No | 10 |
| Resit In | Terminal Exam |
|---|---|
| Spring | Yes - 2 Hour |
• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
The online reflective journals will get comments, and individual feedback will be provided for the essay. Students who wish to get some feedback or pointers for improvement prior to essay submission, must submit a draft or outline by a specified time. If students wish, they may re-submit their essay (by week 12, including the corrected first submission) in order to improve the grade by up to 3 grade points. Advice may also be sought on the group project beforehand and especially during the designated workshop class set aside for this. Written feedback on the group project will be made available after the publication of results. All students must attend the final class where the projects are briefly presented.
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Dr Siobhan Donovan | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
| Dr Helga Muellneritsch | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |