Modules

• Year 1

  Core Modules

  Exploring History 2 (20 credits)

  ×

  Exploring History 2

  Overview

  This module allows students the chance to enrich their understanding of historical methods, theories and themes via a closely defined case study. Students will choose from a range of course offered by History staff and will study one topic in detail. Each course is designed as a significant area of study in its own right, and as a means of developing in depth some of the issues of historiography and method that students will encounter over their course of studies in History at Queen's.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, students should be aware of the range of approaches that have been used to study the past. They should be able to demonstrate knowledge of a particular historical case study and how it has been debated amongst historians. They should also be aware of the links between historical research and methodological/theoretical frameworks.

  Skills

  Ability to think critically, reason logically, and evaluate evidence; develop communication skills, both written and oral; an ability to work independently; the ability to use and interpret a range of sources.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  1

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS1002

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Core

  English in Transition (20 credits)

  ×

  English in Transition

  Overview

  This module is envisaged as introducing students to literary interpretation as conceived by English studies at university level. It aims to provide students with critical skills and technical vocabulary necessary to study poetry and prose for the rest of their degree. The module focuses on a small selection of texts designed to help students make the transition from the critical strategies used at A-level to those of academic English. In turn, the two sections of the module include contributions from the Heaney Centre and creative writing colleagues and the mode of assessment will allow for reflective development of writing skills through resubmission of formative writing for summative assessment.

  Learning Outcomes

  At the end of this module students will have learned to read and analyze poetry and prose using the techniques, vocabularies and approaches of contemporary academic English studies. They will have made the transition from reading and writing at A-level, having learned the research skills and critical terminologies necessary for the close, contextual reading of prose and poetry and writing about both genres in a suitably academic register. They will be equipped to undertake advanced study of literary works in semester two modules.

  Skills

  Students will learn to develop: critical and analytical skills; methods of textual analysis appropriate to the genres of poetry and prose; writing and research skills appropriate to degree-level English; oral presentation skills; independent study skills; and an ability to collaborate and work in groups; the ability to read and prepare for weekly lectures and tutorials.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  1

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG1001

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Core

  Exploring History 1 (20 credits)

  ×

  Exploring History 1

  Overview

  This module allows students to study a closely-defined area of history. They will choose from a range of courses offered by History staff and will study one topic in detail. Each course is designed as a significant area of study in its own right, and as a means of developing in depth some of the issues of historiography and method that students will encounter over their course of studies in History at Queen's. Particular emphasis is placed on essay writing at university level.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, students should be aware of the range of approaches that have been used to study the past. They should be able to demonstrate knowledge of a particular historical case study and how it has been debated amongst historians. They should also be aware of the links between historical research and methodological/theoretical frameworks.

  Skills

  Ability to think critically, reason logically, and evaluate evidence; develop communication skills, both written and oral; an ability to work independently; the ability to use and interpret a range of sources.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  1

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS1003

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Core

  Introduction to English Language (20 credits)

  ×

  Introduction to English Language

  Overview

  This module offers a broad introduction to key topics in English language. It lays the foundations for the systematic study of the language in all its diversity. Among the topics covered are: common beliefs about “good” and “bad” accents and dialects; phonetics, syntax and morphology; and the social, situational and geographical variation in language, with an emphasis on the history and development of the English language. Another important area of inquiry is how language works in cultural contexts and intersects with issues of power and gender. In summary, the module enables students to move beyond ‘common-sense’ ideas about language towards the academic and analytic perspective appropriate for university level.

  Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of this module, students will have become aware of the levels of structure which make up the spoken and written varieties of a language, the communicative functions of these levels, and of the relevant descriptive and analytical frameworks to analyse and describe them, with regard both to present-day English and to stages in its historical development. Students will also have gained the skills for the confident oral delivery of some of the issues and topics addressed on the Course.

  Skills

  While Units One and Two focus on theoretical and analytical concepts and frameworks, Units Three and Four provide case studies from ‘real-world’ contexts such as the media and the historical development of the English language, to which students will apply the skills they have gained in Units One and Two. The module incorporates online assessment for Units One and Two, which will account for 30% of the mark and will take the form of online exercises, to be completed by students in weeks 3-6. Units Three and Four will be assessed at the end of the semester as essay assignments, worth 70% in total. Students will write two essays of 1400-1700 words each: one essay will address the issues covered in Unit Three (35%), and the other essay will address the issues covered in Unit Four (35%).

  Coursework

  70%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  30%

  Stage/Level

  1

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENL1001

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Core

  Issues in Contemporary Fiction: Gender, Race, Ecology (20 credits)

  ×

  Issues in Contemporary Fiction: Gender, Race, Ecology

  Overview

  This module examines a broad sample of recent fiction. In doing so, it raises a set of general questions: 1) whose contemporary experience does this literature address? 2) what economic or political factors lead to a shared sense of the contemporary? 3) how does modern fiction relate to these broader social forces? The module has a three-part structure. Section 1 examines the sociology of contemporary taste; it focuses on the institutions and practices that shape aesthetic judgement. Section 2 analyses literary treatments of contemporary political issues and examines the suitability of literature as a vehicle for political reflection. The final section of the module explores the ways in which recent fiction has raised questions about the nature and function of religion in the modern world.

  Learning Outcomes

  At the end of this module students will have gained a general understanding of the theoretical and methodological issues that surround the study of contemporary literature. Students will have learned to subject a range of recent fiction to a technical or formal analysis. They will also be able to read texts in context and will have a basic understanding of the social, economic, and political forces that shape these contexts.

  Skills

  Students will learn to develop a) analytical skills b) methods of textual analysis c) an understanding of meta-critical issues d) a clear and succinct writing style e) oral presentation skills f) a capacity for independent inquiry g) an ability to collaborate and work in groups h) computer skills.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  1

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG1002

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Core

  Optional Modules

  Reading the Modern City (20 credits)

  ×

  Reading the Modern City

  Overview

  This module is designed specifically for students studying History and various forms of Literary and Cultural Studies and encourages them to reflect on the relationships between different methodologies for reading the modern city, circa 1840-1960. The module encourages students to reflect on how they might read a novel, as opposed to a work of social history: can they deploy the same reading practices? What are the ethics of reading historical sources compared to the ethics of reading fiction? Does genre play a similar role in both historical and literary works? How might questions of race, class, gender or sexuality frame disciplinary reading? . How do both disciplines draw on methodologies outside their own fields, such as economics, architecture, and social science? The module would be organised around four different cities, with each city being used as a case study to think through these methodological questions, while also representing a series of themes.
  
  Course Outline
  
  Week 1: Introduction to the module and to its interdisciplinary challenges
  
  Week 2: Theories of Urban Modernity: Simmel, Benjamin, De Certeau
  
  Week 3: Shock City 1: Manchester in the industrial age
  
  Week 4: Shock City 2: The condition of England novel (Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton, 1848)
  
  Week 5: The Imperial City 1: London and the Politics of Empire
  
  Week 6: Reading Week
  
  Week 7: The Imperial City 2: The Gothic and imperial Anxiety (Richard Marsh’s The Beetle, 1897)
  
  Week 8: City Cultures 1: Modernity and Popular Culture in modern Dublin
  
  Week 9: City Cultures 2: The Politics of Cultural Value (James Joyce, Ulysses, 1922 [Wandering Rocks])
  
  Week 10: Declining Cities 1: Post-industrialisation and Suburbanisation in Belfast
  
  Week 11: Declining Cities 2: Alienation and Identity (Brian Moore’s The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearn, 1955)
  
  Week 12: Gentrification and the Return of the Urban Ideal (class trip to Dublin)

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, students will have developed knowledge and understanding of the emergence and development of urban modernity (1840-present). They will be able to identify the ways in which different disciplines analyse and interpret the past, and in particular demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of methodological differences. In developing a self-reflexive approach to the question of method, students will be able to transfer these skills across their degrees. They will also be able to examine and interrogate some of the dominant frameworks in the humanities for approaching historical texts and periods, in particular the study of class, gender, sexuality, race, and religious identity.

  Skills

  Having completed this module students will be able to:
  
  • Understand the similarities and differences between methodologies in History and Literary and Cultural Studies.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the complex relationship between literary forms and socio-political developments.
  • Think about the strategies of close reading involved in History and Literary and Cultural Studies.
  • Reflect on the usefulness of economic, sociological, and ideological frameworks for reading the past
  • Demonstrate transferrable skills in the forms of critical thinking, group discussion, written communication, and individual research
  • Demonstrate digital literacy skills required to make a digital map, using relevant software programmes

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  1

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG1005

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Revolutions (20 credits)

  ×

  Revolutions

  Overview

  The aim of the module is to introduce level 1 students to the concept and the scholarly debates that surround the term revolution. It does so by examining four examples of revolutions, which may include the Consumer Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Revolution of the 1960s. By doing so, it will raise broader questions about what causes historical change, the interplay between long-term trends and short-term turning points, and the role of individuals. The module will also introduce students to the importance of small group teaching at university and the importance of individual contribution to tutorials. This will be done through an individual presentation, a structured response to presentations from other students, and a short student reflection on the theory and practice of small-group teaching.

  Learning Outcomes

  An understanding of the concept and the scholarly debates that surround the term revolution; An ability to engage with the most important historiographical debates relating to the subject-matter of the module; Effective presentation and oral communication skills; The ability to contribute effectively and courteously to class debates and discussions; An ability to write an informed analysis of historical problems discussed in the module; Enhanced ability to think critically, reason logically, and evaluate evidence; An ability to reflect on learning experience.

  Skills

  None.

  Coursework

  0%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  100%

  Stage/Level

  1

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS1004

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Long Road to Black Lives Matter (20 credits)

  ×

  The Long Road to Black Lives Matter

  Overview

  A systematic introduction to ways in which history is used outside the university campus, including in museums and exhibitions, film, memorials and political discussion. The course will involve visits to local museums and students will get a chance to work together to pitch a new public history project. Previous projects have included public exhibitions, new museums or digital apps. The module focuses on the history of race, ethnicity, slavery, colonialism and anti-colonialism and their representations in pubic history.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students who successfully complete the module should • Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the role of academic history within society; • Be able to present historical information systematically and in accordance with normal
  
  academic practice; • Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the requirements of effective group work • Have identified a dissertation topic and be able to demonstrate an ability to place it in its broad historiographical context.

  Skills

  Working in groups; oral communication skills, public history theory.

  Coursework

  60%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  40%

  Stage/Level

  1

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS1005

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

• Year 2

  Core Modules

  Optional Modules

  Modern American Fiction: Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality (20 credits)

  ×

  Modern American Fiction: Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality

  Overview

  This module introduces students to some of the key American novelists, contexts and critical issues associated with the modern era, roughly interpreted as the first half of the twentieth century (c.1920-1950). It does not ignore the orthodox intellectual approaches to the era, namely that of the modern or modernism and how the representative fiction of the era sought to find new forms and languages suitable to the task of interrogating this modernity. However, rather than rehearsing old debates about national particularity, the “melting pot” and US exceptionalism, the focus of this module is the ways in which exemplary African-American, female, working class and gay novelists, as well as their white, male counterparts, sought to undo and re-write narratives of identity and belonging according to particularities of race, class, gender and sexuality. Particular attention is paid to the interplay between narratives of affirmation and negation (or ‘noir’). The module examines these axes of difference as multiple and overlapping, rather than mutually exclusive; hence the focus is on the narrative, formal and linguistic complexities thrown up the re-making of American fiction through the related and diverging prisms of class and race, for example, or gender and sexuality, or even in terms of race, gender, class and sexuality. A repeated concern of the module is whether or to what extent we can use US fiction of the era to trace and interrogate wider social and political challenges to dominant/normative understandings of the United States, modernity, capitalism, and national identity. The set texts reflect this heterogeneity in terms of the writers to be studied and in terms of the diversity of styles, forms and genres that make up American fiction of the era.

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, students will have developed an appropriate knowledge and understanding of modern American fiction (c. 1900-1950). They will be able to identify the ways in which representative novels of the era interrogate the modern era and the complex relationship between literary form, popular culture and modernism as organizing concepts. They will also be able to examine and reflect upon the complex ways in which dominant and singular narratives of national belonging are untold and reimagined according to the related and overlapping categories of race, class, gender and sexuality – and the implications of this for an understanding of “American” fiction. They will be able to offer close readings of this fiction according to its use of literary form and language and its thematizations of the urban, the modern, “noir”, capitalism, gender and sexuality and race and class. On completion of the module, students will be able to reflect upon the usefulness of fiction of the era to contest received or orthodox accounts of US political, social and economic life and potentially to intervene in this life for affirmative and/or politically progressive ends.

  Skills

  Having completed this module students will be able to:
  
  • Analyse modern American fiction paying attention to theoretical/conceptual and contextual issues and develop close critical readings of a diverse range of fiction.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the complex relationship between literary forms and socio-political transformations.
  • Think about the synthesis and weighting of different, sometimes competing interpretations of literary texts.
  • Reflect on the usefulness of race, class, gender and sexuality as organizing categories to interrogate the exemplary fiction of the era and its thematizations of US identities.
  • Demonstrate transferrable skills in the forms of critical thinking, group discussion, written communication, and individual academic research
  • Demonstrate digital literacy skills required to make a digital map, using relevant software programmes, relating to one of the set texts.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2173

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Inventing America (20 credits)

  ×

  Inventing America

  Overview

  This module analyses the historical, literary and philosophical movements that generated the American literary tradition in the nineteenth century. It will introduce students to the key critical and cultural contexts, writers and movements of the American Renaissance as well as the counter narratives (cited in questions of gender, race, slavery as well as US religious and historical legacies) that produced enduring documents of the nineteenth century. In part, the module is a digest of canonical American writing of the period but one that allows students to read through and beyond the texts and into the major debates underpinning the writing from the new world between circa 1830 and 1900. Backgrounding the module’s discussions are key historical events and phenomena particular to the United States (e.g., the 1830s banking collapse; the American Civil War; demographic and population changes) and students will be encouraged to fuse their literary investigations with appropriate knowledge of historical and social contexts.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, students will have a sound knowledge of nineteenth-century American writing, in particular the rise and promise offered by Transcendentalism, the darker pessimism of the American realists, and the narratives and poetry of American discordance registered in slave narratives and texts dealing specifically with gender, race, and the power systems of American society. The developing influence of capitalism, the economic justifications for the horrors of slavery, and the self-conscious development of American individualism all feature as key questions that the module discusses. By moving between a range of genres – philosophical essays, econarratives, poetry, horror fiction, slave narratives, psychological tales, historical fiction – students will be equipped as multi-modal readers and critics of the developing forms of nineteenth-century American writing.

  Skills

  Students will, on completion of this module, be able to:
  • analyse a range of nineteenth-century American writing from different perspectives in terms of genre, historical significance, literary techniques and variations of form;
  • demonstrate a good understanding of the period known as the American Renaissance
  • identify key aspects of American writing from the nineteenth century
  • understand the cross-currents of American literary production set against contemporary debates concerning class, gender and race
  • demonstrate a range of transferable skills in the forms of presentation skills, group discussion, individual research and written communication

  Coursework

  80%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  20%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2172

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Modernism and Modernity (20 credits)

  ×

  Modernism and Modernity

  Overview

  This module introduces students to the literature and culture of the period 1900-1930, with a focus on the literary movements grouped under the term ‘modernism’. These literary texts will be examined as complicated and ambivalent responses to the experience of modernity. Students will cover key figures of British and Irish ‘High Modernism’, including James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot, alongside American modernists and writers of the so-called ‘middle brow’. Particular attention will be paid to the historical contexts in which these texts were produced, and on their conditions of publication and consumption. These contexts include: the aftermath of the Great War; gender politics, from the New Woman to Suffrage and beyond; the politics of race; terrorism and violence; queer sexualities; urban decay and urban development; the relationship between cultural centres and peripheries; poetry and its publics; American cultural politics; media, and the rise of youth cultures. More broadly, the modules will explore theories and manifestations of ‘modernity’, examining the challenges of modern technologies and social formations to literary practice.

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, students will have developed an appropriate knowledge and understanding of the literature of modernity. They will be able to read a variety of texts from the period 1900-1930, including novels, poems, short stories, novellas, and periodical essays. Students will be able to read these texts in relation to a number of contexts, including political, social, and cultural developments. They will also develop the skills to read these texts with an eye to their formal complexity and ingenuity, tying this experimentation to the dynamic social contexts to which they responded. Students will be introduced to a number of digital resources that will encourage their independent research into the periodical publication of modernist works. Moreover students will be able to interrogate a number of dominant critical frameworks, including: those that have, until recently, elevated modernism above the broader literary culture of the period; those that diminish the influence of Victorian literature on modernism.

  Skills

  Having completed this module students will be able to:
  
  • Analyse modernist literature in both a historical and critical context.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the complex relationship between formal literary innovation and social transformations.
  • Examine the relationship between ‘high’ cultural forms and the so-called ‘middle brow’ works of the period.
  • Explore how literary texts challenged dominant understandings of race, gender, and class.
  • Demonstrate transferrable skills in the forms of critical thinking, group discussion, written communication, and individual academic research.
  • Demonstrate advanced research skills, in particular the use of digital platforms to explore the nature of modernist periodicals.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2060

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Havoc and Rebellion: Writing and Reading Later Medieval England (20 credits)

  ×

  Havoc and Rebellion: Writing and Reading Later Medieval England

  Overview

  From the Black Death to the Uprising of 1381; from the usurpation and murder of King Richard II to the Oldcastle Rebellion of 1414; from the rise of the Lollard heresy to the Wars of the Roses – how did late medieval writing, from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Langland’s Piers Plowman, and Gower’s Vox Clamantis, to the work of a range of anonymous poets, dramatists, and chroniclers, respond to several decades of tumultuous social and cultural change? This module introduces students to the vibrancy and vitality of a crucial period in the history of English writing, and it explores the methodological challenges of reading literature historically. Students will engage with key historicist readings of the period’s literature and will consider literature in its material circumstances with reference to online facsimiles of key manuscript books, as well as the museological presentation of the period’s material culture. The key genres, conventions and preoccupations of the period will be explored in relation to the explosive social mobility that followed the devastation of the Black Death. The module will conclude on the eve of the coronation of Henry VIII, when it was assumed that the political and religious tumult of the ‘calamitous fourteenth century’ had finally been settled.

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, students will have developed an appropriate knowledge and understanding of late medieval literature and culture (c.1370-1509). They will have learned to address the challenges of reading literature in its historical contexts, and become familiar with the central tenets of historicist critical practice. They will have learned to interrogate critically the re-presentation of texts and artefacts from the Middle Ages in online archival and museological contexts. They will have learned to reflect critically on the idea of the Middle Ages itself and on questions of historical periodisation in general.

  Skills

  Having completed this module students will be able to:
  
  • Analyse late medieval literature, paying attention to the relationship between texts and contexts assumed by historicist modes of reading.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the complex relationship between literary forms and socio-political transformations.
  • Situate the literature of this period in the contexts of its influence on literary ideas and modes of transmission, such as authorship and printing, that will be of critical importance to later periods
  • Demonstrate enhanced digital capabilities, both in terms of using digital repositories and in working collaboratively on a digital project for assessment.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2041

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  An Introduction to Critical and Cultural Theory (20 credits)

  ×

  An Introduction to Critical and Cultural Theory

  Overview

  ‘Critical and Cultural Theory’ names a panoply of intellectual movements, philosophical currents and political perspectives emerging out of the crisis in European culture and identity precipitated by the pace of political, technological and social change in the nineteenth century. That crisis was exacerbated by the world wars of the twentieth century, the rise of Communism, and the collapse of Western imperialism. This module introduces students to key issues in critical and cultural theory, historicising its emergence and reflecting on its current preoccupations. Beginning with the ‘masters of suspicion’, Freud, Nietzsche and Marx, who are often perceived to have brought the project of Enlightenment humanism to a shuddering halt, the module will trace the development of a variety of important theoretical perspectives, including Marxism, psychoanalysis, structuralism and poststructuralism, historicism, gender studies, and bio-politics and posthumanism. The module will build on the questions asked by the Stage One module ENG xxx Adventures in Literature and the History of Ideas and will complement the approaches taken on other Stage Two modules, given its historicising agenda.

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, students will have developed a basic knowledge of a range of theoretical traditions and be better equipped to situate the cultural and political preoccupations of the modern and postmodern literatures they are exploring elsewhere in the curriculum in relation to the intellectual, political and social developments of Western societies from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. They will be better attuned to the intellectual agendas and theoretical affiliations of the critical approaches used by both staff in the School and in the secondary critical materials they are encountering in other modules across their degrees. They will have learned to historicise and synthesise a range of often conflicting intellectual and philosophical traditions.

  Skills

  Having completed this module students will be able to:
  • Identify and adjudicate between different intellectual approaches to literature, culture, gender and history
  • Analyse and evaluate key critical terminologies and ideas and place them in their historical contexts
  • Demonstrate an ability to read ‘secondary’ texts critically and with a view to their underpinning intellectual assumptions and agendas
  • Demonstrate transferral skills in the form of group discussion, written communication, oral presentation and collaborative work

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2000

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Apocalypse! End of the World. (20 credits)

  ×

  Apocalypse! End of the World.

  Overview

  The aim of the course is to introduce students to historical and anthropological reflection on millennial / millenarian beliefs and movements across space and time. Taking a long view of historical events and using case studies of present-day groups that attend to ideas about the end of the world, taking advantage of the interdisciplinary character of the School, and using a wide range of primary sources, including novels, film, websites, and ethnographic case studies and film, this course will invite students to consider the ancient roots of millennial theory; its foundational texts, exponents / prophets and movements; examples of well-known failed and successful millennial claims and movements, including the Crusades, radical puritans, Mormons, Jewish Zionists, American evangelicals, new religious movements, including UFO and suicide cults, and radical Islamists; the use of millennial theory as presentist critique; the development of millennial majorities, and the social, cultural and political implications of their dominance; millennialism’s place in utopian theory; and a final consideration of theoretical rejoinders, in which the course leaders encourage students to consider whether millennial claims might be right – for example, in terms of global warming – and whether that might change the way in which historians and anthropologists should approach the subject.

  Learning Outcomes

  An understanding of the broad history and anthropology of millennial movements across space and time; An ability to discuss millennial ideas and movements using heuristic tools from history and anthropology; An ability to use electronic resources and to develop key research skills; Effective communication skills; An ability to write an informed analysis of historical problems discussed in the module; An ability to work independently.

  Skills

  Enhanced ability to think critically, reason logically, and evaluate evidence; Further develop communication skills, both written and oral; Critical appraisal of, engagement with, and effective use of a variety of historical and anthropological sources.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HAP2065

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Cabinets of Curiosity: Museums Past and Present (20 credits)

  ×

  Cabinets of Curiosity: Museums Past and Present

  Overview

  This module will focus on museums from the Renaissance to the modern day, charting the transition from private collecting to public display. It will consider the shifting roles of museums across time and will provide students with an understanding of how and why museums’ aims, purposes and functions continue to change. Students will engage with debates about object collection, preservation, repatriation and display, and will explore some of the current issues facing museums. They will also consider diverse museum audiences, including the elite and wealthy audiences of the eighteenth century and international audiences served by twenty-first-century online museums. Through their reading, research and museum visits, students will also begin to appreciate the different roles of museum staff and through their object engagement project, will gain vital skills that could be useful for their own future employment.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, the successful student should be able to
  - Discuss the history of museums
  - Understand debates about the purpose, aims and roles of museums in society
  - Explain how and why the function of museums and their target audiences have changed over time
  - Identify current issues facing museums, particularly in Northern Ireland
  - produce object labels or object biographies for a wide audience

  Skills

  - Analytical skills
  - Research skills
  - Object appreciation skills
  - Written, oral and visual communication skills
  - Debating skills
  - Computer/multimedia skills
  - Group work skills

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2067

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Fiction and the Novel (1660-1820) (20 credits)

  ×

  Fiction and the Novel (1660-1820)

  Overview

  This module examines the development of prose fiction in English from the later seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century. This is the period in which the novel emerged in its recognisably modern form, establishing itself as an important genre within literary culture. It was also an era of generic experimentation, as writers debated the nature of the novel, took the form in new directions, and grappled with earlier modes of writing in prose, such as romance and picaresque, allegorical and fantastical fiction. In this module, we explore the variety of prose fiction published during this period: from romance and amatory fiction, through works of realism and social comedy, to the sentimental and Gothic modes that emerged in the later eighteenth century. These works engaged closely with contemporary social, cultural and political issues, and we will consider texts that address topics such as travel and empire; science and civilisation; marriage and gender; crime, morality and the state of the nation. By considering these works in their literary and cultural contexts, the module both highlights the diversity of fiction written during this era and charts the early history of the novel up to the sophisticated narratives of Jane Austen.

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, students will have developed higher-level knowledge and understanding of prose fiction during the period 1660-1820. They will be able to identify the different kinds and modes of fiction published during this period, including romance and amatory fiction, works of realism and social comedy, the sentimental and Gothic modes. They will be equipped to assess critical arguments concerning the ‘rise’ of the novel as a distinctive literary genre during the ‘long’ eighteenth century. They will also be able to situate this body of fiction more broadly within its literary and cultural contexts. On completing the module, then, students will be able to articulate the key types of fiction in English during the period up to (and including) Austen, theories about the novel’s emergence as a literary form, and the engagement of these works with a range of contemporary issues.

  Skills

  Having completed this module students will be able to:
  
  • Analyse works of prose fiction published during the ‘long’ eighteenth century, in terms of genre, technique, and social and cultural contexts
  • Demonstrate understanding of the variety of forms, modes and styles within fiction during this period, and the pre-history of some of these ways of writing
  • Adjudicate critical and theoretical ideas regarding the ‘rise’ or emergence of the novel genre during the period up to Austen
  • Demonstrate understanding of the particular issues explored within this body of fiction - from issues such as marriage and travel to concerns about crime, morality and empire
  • Demonstrate transferrable skills in the forms of group discussion, written communication, and individual research

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2061

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Utopia / Dystopia: The Future in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Literature (20 credits)

  ×

  Utopia / Dystopia: The Future in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Literature

  Overview

  In the late nineteenth century, utopian literature met speculative fiction: the ‘nowhere’ of utopia was reimagined as the future, which was conceived as both the best and worst possible worlds. This course examines a variety of late nineteenth-century utopias and dystopias, but also shows the ways this imaginative tradition shaped literary prediction in the twentieth century (including works by Aldous Huxley, George Orwell and Margaret Atwood). It considers the ways twentieth-century writers both engaged with their literary predecessors and rewrote utopian and dystopian traditions to speak to the urgency of their own political moments. From the dangers and promises of science and technology to the future of feminism, socialism, race and mass culture, we will explore what utopias and dystopias reveal about their own historical moments, and analyze the claim that one person’s utopia is another’s dystopia.
  
  Indicative selection of texts
  
  Edward Bulwer Lytton, The Coming Race
  H. G. Wells, The Time Machine
  William Morris, News from Nowhere
  Catherine Helen Spence, A Week in the Future
  Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland
  E. M. Forster, ‘The Machine Stops’
  Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
  George Orwell, 1984
  Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

  Learning Outcomes

  At the end of this course, students will be able to analyze the evolving generic traits of political fantasy in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and will have gained an understanding of utopian, dystopian and speculative fiction as literary forms. They will be able to relate utopian and dystopian fiction to social debates and historical changes in the period in which it was produced (including debates over feminism, socialism, evolutionary biology and eugenics and the future of democracy and mass culture). They will be capable of analyzing the political function of utopian and dystopian literature, and the role of reading communities in the evolution of the genre. Students will be able to use their understanding of genre to reflect on continuities with as well as changes between late Victorian and twentieth-century literature.

  Skills

  • A demonstrable understanding of the relationship between the political and the literary, and an ability to see the relevance of debates generated by this ‘literature of ideas’ to the present as well as the past
  • Transferrable skills in the forms of group discussion, ability to present material to peers and individual research and essay writing skills – the ability to synthesize texts and create a clear analytical argument
  • The ability to interweave close and historical reading skills – a demonstrable awareness of the ways historical and cultural change shapes literary form within political fantasy from the nineteenth to the twentieth century
  • Ability to apply theoretical and historical debates over genre (utopian and dystopian and speculative fiction) to a range of literary contexts
  • An ability to show the ways fiction is shaped by reading communities as well as writers (including socialist and feminist readerships).

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2065

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Gender, Culture, and Representation – Backwards & in Heels (20 credits)

  ×

  Gender, Culture, and Representation – Backwards & in Heels

  Overview

  This interdisciplinary module introduces students to the central ideas of gender theory and to a wide variety of representations of gender across a range of media, including theatre, performance, literature, visual art, film and television. Using key texts and cultural works students are encouraged to examine critically the representation of gender across media, and the political, legal, and ethical dimensions of gender within our culture. The module involves a critical engagement with the relationship between identity, representation and culture and explores theories concerning the social construction of the masculine and feminine body. The module engages with several key issues, including the representation of femininity and masculinity, gender in the literary and theatrical canon of Western culture, the spatiality and temporality of gender, and its intersections with issues of race/ethnicity, class, and labour. Students will be asked to think about these issues and ideas across disciplines but also within their areas of study through seminars.

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, you should:
  
  * have engaged with a variety of representations of gender, the body and sexual identities within socio-historical, theoretical and representational frameworks and across multiple forms of media,
  
  * have cultivated an understanding of the theoretical and practical movements that have shaped the construction and representation of gender, sexuality and the body in culture,
  
  * have developed a critical understanding of the relationship between representation and identity.

  Skills

  Having completed this module, you should:
  
  * have developed reflexive thinking and independent critical and analytical skills.
  
  * have developed imaginative and communicative skills based on the application of reading materials to class presentations
  
  * have developed research and writing skills

  Coursework

  60%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  40%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  AEL2001

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Adaptation as Interdisciplinary Practice (20 credits)

  ×

  Adaptation as Interdisciplinary Practice

  Overview

  This module asks students to examine the process and challenges of adapting works, either within the same medium in a different time or place, or between different media, with staff from across the school collaborating to offer students an understanding of how different media work, and how the differences between those media impact the process of adaptation. The class will also examine how adaptation plays an integral role in the process of translation. Each week students will examine several versions of a play, novel, and/or film script (or watch them), looking at originals from the Greeks forward to see how adaptors have grappled with great works of different eras and cultures in an attempt to make them more accessible to contemporary audiences, while at the same time (in most cases) attempting to preserve something of their original context. The class will also look at theoretical models of adaptation. Ultimately, students will be asked to examine the adaptation history of a single original work in an academic essay, and will try their own hand at adaptation in presenting a treatment for a work of fiction, drama, film, or any other form, adapted from a prior work.

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, you should:
  
  Understand the history of adaptation in drama and other forms.
  Be able to analyse translations and adaptations
  Be able to identify the rationale behind what is altered and what is kept.
  Become adapters on their own.

  Skills

  Research and analytical skills
  Performance skills
  Communication and speech
  Interacting with others (both in interactions between performer and director, as well as performer and audience)
  Technical proficiency

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  AEL2002

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Diachronic Linguistics: Exploring language change (20 credits)

  ×

  Diachronic Linguistics: Exploring language change

  Overview

  This module uses the various stages of the English language from the 5th century through to the present day as the backdrop for the introduction of specific concepts used in the analysis of language change. By exploring key syntactic, morphological and semantic changes in the history of English, students will engage with current theories of diachronic change and be encouraged to apply theoretical concepts to empirical data. Typical topics that will be covered include morpho-phonology in the verbal and nominal domains, changes in word order, grammaticalisation and null subjects (although not necessarily all in each year).

  Learning Outcomes

  By the end of the module, students will be able to draw on the main stages of the diachrony of the English language to explain the basic mechanisms of language change. Students will also be able to employ appropriate methods for observing and describing language change phenomena in the morphology, with specific reference to syntax, morphology and semantics of English and related varieties.

  Skills

  By the end of the module, students will be able to draw on the main stages of the diachrony of the English language to explain the basic mechanisms of language change. The students will also be able to employ descriptive methods in order to observe and describe language change phenomena in the morphology, syntax and semantics of English and related varieties.

  Coursework

  80%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  20%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENL2003

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Northern Ireland Conflict and paths to peace (20 credits)

  ×

  The Northern Ireland Conflict and paths to peace

  Overview

  What caused the Northern Irish conflict? What factors sustained it? What role did world leaders, paramilitaries, clergy and local politicians play in progressing the peace process? And what role does civil society, arts, culture and heritage play in building social cohesion?
  This interdisciplinary, team-taught module will draw on expertise from across the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics to explore some of the key themes of the Global Bachelor’s Program. Using Northern Ireland as a case study, it will ask questions about the means through which societies can move from conflict to peace, about the roles that various actors can play in conflict resolution, and about the roles that public representations and explorations of the past can play both in entrenching divisions and in furthering peace and mutual understanding.

  Learning Outcomes

  By the end of this module the successful student should be able to demonstrate in assessed essays, coursework and seminar contributions:
  - A familiarity with the major issues and debates around the development of the Northern Ireland conflict, the peace process, and the role of civil society in peace-building. - A sense of the interrelatedness of political, economic, cultural and social forces in shaping the past
  - An appreciation of the internal and external forces that contributed to the conflict AND helped build peace
  - A heightened sense of the complexity of identity, politics and place in Northern Ireland
  - Demonstrable awareness of the role that arts, culture, heritage and public engagement with the past can play in building social integration.

  Skills

  On completion of this module the student should be able to:
  - Understand and process complex information
  - Engage in sustained and self-directed reading
  - Engage in intellectual discussion based on reading and class content
  - Communicate complex information effectively and with precision in oral presentation and in writing to an academic audience

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HAP2001

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Dickens and the Cult of Celebrity (20 credits)

  ×

  Dickens and the Cult of Celebrity

  Overview

  We are all familiar with people who have recently been quickly catapulted to the heights of fame and public attention. The status of such individuals is often associated with wealth and public exposure, and the rise of mass media makes it much easier for them to gain publicity and recognition instantly, across the world. But has it always been this way?
  
  This module will examine the career and legacy of Charles Dickens, who was first recognised for his extraordinary creativity, in producing the works of literature for which he is best known. He was also, however, a careful and intelligent manipulator of his own public image, to the extent that the catchphrase ‘the man who invented Christmas’ survives to this day. By carefully scrutinising Dickens through fiction, journalism, letters, advertising, biography, photography, and film, students will come to understand just how ‘constructed’ this Victorian superstar was; they will also understand how the means he, his publishers, agents, and advisors, and his inheritors employed to develop and maintain his public image serve as forerunners for the phenomenon of celebrity culture in our own day.
  
  Indicative set texts & other media:
  
  Lee Barron, Celebrity Cultures: An Introduction (Sage, 2015)
  Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
  Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
  Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
  Ralph Fiennes, The Invisible Woman (DVD 2013)
  Bharat Naluri, The Man Who Invented Christmas (DVD 2017)
  Michael Slater, Charles Dickens (Yale UP, 2011)

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, students will have developed an appropriate knowledge and understanding of the history of celebrity, and the role it has played in shaping cultural values. They will be able to read and engage critically with key Dickens novels from the 1830s-1850s, as well as with his journalism and letters. They will also be able to examine and perform critical assessments on other media that feature Dickens as the central figure, including film, photography, and advertising. Students will be able to analyse and interrogate the ways in which various media project the idea of celebrity in light of their target audiences, and will be able to assess the effects of the strategies employed.

  Skills

  Having completed this module you will be able to:
  
  • Analyse Dickens’s literary texts in both historical and critical contexts.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the meaning of ‘celebrity’ and the role it has played in shaping cultural values
  • Examine how textual and visual media have had an impact upon the development of celebrity
  • Explore the construction of the author as a complex amalgam of creative ability and targeted media manipulation
  • Demonstrate how celebrities become brands in their own right, and are used in marketing to promote products and services
  • Demonstrate transferrable skills in the forms of critical thinking, group discussion, written communication, and individual academic research.
  • Demonstrate advanced research skills, in particular the use of digital platforms to explore the nature of celebrity culture

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2066

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Romantic Poetry, 1789-1832 (20 credits)

  ×

  Romantic Poetry, 1789-1832

  Overview

  The Romantic period (c.1789-1832) witnessed dramatic social and historical change as the effects of major events such as the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, widespread Enclosure and the Industrial Revolution initiated the sense of ‘living in history’. In the midst of these revolutionary changes, poets wrote with new confidence of the importance of the imagination, as a creative and utopian force; of the beauty, fragility and power of the natural world; of political ideals of social justice; of the arguments for gender equality. Poetry became synonymous with the imagination as a force which could unite idealism with social change. This module studies a range of Romantic poetry, including but not restricted to, the work of Anna Laetitia Barbauld, William Blake, Lord Byron, John Clare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary Robinson, Felicia Hemans, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Charlotte Smith, and William Wordsworth. Poems will be studied through the key themes of the revolutionary imagination; the natural world; the language of class; representations of childhood; slavery and feminism. One hour of each week’s seminar time will comprise a close reading of one key poem for that week’s discussion, with the second hour being used for more generalized and broader discussion. The module will also include a specialised library visit and a field trip connected with the natural world.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students completing this module will have learned to read poetry in terms of its formal techniques and effects and to situate these interpretations in a range of contexts both historical and contemporary. They will be able to read and contextualize poetry of the Romantic period in particular, and to understand its significance for contemporary literature and society. They will be able to distinguish and appreciate a diversity of poetic genres and styles characteristic of the period, and to read and interrogate a range of diverse kinds of poetry in a critical way. Students will be equipped to debate political, aesthetic and social issues in an informed way with regard to their historical development, and their continued development in modern forms. Students will also be able to interrogate constructions of Romanticism and to deconstruct its various claims from contemporary perspectives both supportive and critical of its legacy for the modern world.

  Skills

  Students who have completed this module will be able to:
  
  • Interpret a range of poems in ways which are attuned to their aesthetic effects and contextual meanings.
  • Debate various aesthetic, social and political issues produced in poetry of the Romantic period.
  • Show an understanding of formal and generic developments in poetry with regard to intellectual history.
  • Examine the ways in which literary texts are implicated in the emergence of dominant understandings of political and social discourses.
  • Demonstrate transferrable skills in the forms of critical thinking, group discussion, written communication, and individual academic research.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2063

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Enlightenment and its Discontents (20 credits)

  ×

  Enlightenment and its Discontents

  Overview

  This module introduces students to the intellectual arguments and counter-arguments of the period known as the Age of Enlightenment, running through the long eighteenth century and embodied in its literature. As an increasing emphasis on rationality as a means to human understanding came to challenge earlier forms of social and political legitimacy, attitudes to self and identity; science and religion; gender and sexuality; politics and government were significantly reformulated from the eighteenth century onwards, with literature and the arts reflecting and participating in the broad historical movement that this shift in thinking represented. We will introduce and debate some of these key ideas of the Enlightenment (or of the various forms of Enlightenment) in relation to the development of generic categories and poetic forms over the period. The module will be organized around a series of texts and debates implicated in significant cultural and historical developments such as the growth of individualism, consumerism, ideas of political liberty and rights, and of the nation and its overseas empire. The module will include selections of poetry and prose (including literary forms such as the periodical essay, life writings, the political pamphlet, and the novel) to be read in relation to contextual, literary-theoretical, and historical considerations. We will also examine revisionist responses to the Enlightenment, reflecting the interests of contemporary authors seeking to represent the marginalized or silenced voices of the period such as those of women, labouring classes, slaves, and colonial others.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students completing this module will have gained, through their engagement with literary texts and genres, an understanding of major Enlightenment ideas and their impact on historical development. They will be able to read and contextualize literature of eighteenth century in particular with regard to such ideas, and to discern their significance for contemporary literature and society. They will be able to distinguish and appreciate a diversity of genres and texts characteristic of the period, and to read and interrogate such genres and texts in a critical way. They will be introduced to major digital resources giving them the skills that will enable independent research should they wish to progress further in this area. Students will be equipped to debate political, religious and social issues in an informed way with regard to the emergence of such controversies, and their continued development in modern forms. Students will also be able interrogate constructions of the Enlightenment and to deconstruct its various claims from contemporary perspectives critical of its legacy for the modern world.

  Skills

  Students who have completed this module will be able to:
  
  • Analyse literary texts with regard to the major intellectual debates and forms of knowledge generated by Enlightenment thinking.
  • Debate various religious, social and political issues produced in literature relating to Enlightenment.
  • Demonstrate research skills with regard to the use of digital platforms such as Eighteenth-Century Collections Online and British Periodicals with regard to the exploration of such topics.
  • Show an understanding of formal and generic developments in literature with regard to intellectual history.
  • Examine the ways in which literary texts are implicated in the emergence of dominant understandings of political and social discourses.
  • Demonstrate transferrable skills in the forms of critical thinking, group discussion, written communication, and individual academic research.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2064

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Alexander The Great and the Creation of the Hellenistic World (20 credits)

  ×

  Alexander The Great and the Creation of the Hellenistic World

  Overview

  An analytical survey of ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern history from the conquest of the whole of Balkan Greece by Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, to the emergence of successor kingdoms within Alexander’s conquered territories after his death in 323 BC. After an introduction on sources and methodology, the course proceeds chronologically. Topics receiving special emphasis include: the rise, and the ultimate triumph, of Macedon over the Greek city-states; Alexander’s war against Persia and subsequent conquests; the fragmentation of Alexander’s empire after his death; and events in Sicily and the West (including the expansion of Rome in Italy).

  Learning Outcomes

  To apply objective historical methodology to a period of alleged decline in Greek history.

  Skills

  Skills of analysis and evaluation, in particular the organization and interpretation of widely scattered and fragmentary source material.

  Coursework

  60%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  40%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2020

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Uniting Kingdoms (20 credits)

  ×

  Uniting Kingdoms

  Overview

  The aim of this module is to examine the interrelationships between the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1603 to 1815 and the factors contributing to the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. It will provide an overview of the principal events and developments following the union of the Crowns in 1603, including the attempts by the Stuart monarchy to promote uniformity, the wars of religion of the mid seventeenth century, Cromwellian rule, the Williamite revolutions in each of the three kingdoms, the Anglo-Scottish Union, church-state relations, Jacobite rebellions, the age of revolutions, and the British-Irish Union.

  Learning Outcomes

  An understanding of the various relationships between England, Ireland, and Scotland and the forces that encouraged the creation of the United Kingdom
  An ability to engage with the most important historiographical debates relating to the subject-matter of the module

  Skills

  Enhanced ability to think critically, reason logically, and evaluate evidence
  Further develop communication skills, both written and oral
  Critical appraisal of, engagement with, and effective use of a variety of sources.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2064

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Politics and Society in 20th Century Ireland (20 credits)

  ×

  Politics and Society in 20th Century Ireland

  Overview

  Home Rule or Union?; Social and economic change; Gaelic revival and parliamentary politics; separatism; the Home Rule/Ulster crisis, 1912-14; war, rebellion and revolution; partition, independence and devolution.

  Learning Outcomes

  To understand the course of Irish development during the remaining years of the Union; partition, independence and devolution in Northern Ireland.

  Skills

  The acquisition and analysis of information; prioritisation and interpretation; effective presentation of written and oral reports.

  Coursework

  30%

  Examination

  60%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2012

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The American South, 1865-1980 (20 credits)

  ×

  The American South, 1865-1980

  Overview

  The outcome of the Civil War sealed the destruction of slavery and raised hopes among African Americans and others of a new,more egalitarian social order in the American South. After a promising start in the immediate aftermath of the War,those hopes were crushed beneath the weight of racial reaction and the demands of the region's new industrial order,leaving ordinary southerners of both races languishing amidst intense poverty and racial violence. In this module we will attempt to understand both the remarkable resilience of racial divisions in the American South and the periodic attempts on the part of black and white southerners to challenge regional "tradition".

  Learning Outcomes

  To explore and understand the consequences of the ending of slavery in the American South.

  Skills

  An ability to analyse orally and on paper, the complex issues of race in the context of the American South.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2029

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Shakespeare and Co (20 credits)

  ×

  Shakespeare and Co

  Overview

  This module introduces students to the drama of the English Renaissance. It explores texts by a wide range of authors, including Shakespeare, Cary, Marlowe, Middleton, Rowley and Webster and examines the forces working on drama in the early modern period. Lectures will provide an introduction to the dramatic form, close readings of the set plays, and readings in relation to contemporary issues such as nationality, authority, desire, religion, sexuality, gender, strangeness, race, identity, social standing, fantasy, magic and taboo.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, students should have learned how to study dramatic form and how to relate a text to its context. Through class discussion and formative assessments, you should have further developed your oral and written communication skills.

  Skills

  To familiarize students with the range of drama produced during the English Renaissance; to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to undertake Renaissance modules in Stage 3.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2050

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Language and Power (20 credits)

  ×

  Language and Power

  Overview

  This module investigates the ways in which language intersects with the social and political reflexes of power and ideology. Students are encouraged to challenge, through exposure and then analysis, the discourse conventions that characterise the language of powerful groups and institutions. This module places particular emphasis on print and broadcast media, legal, political and advertising discourse, and on other forms of institutional rhetoric. Among the topics covered are: The Discourse of Institutions and Organisations; Power and Talk; Language and Gender; Language and Race; Language and the Law; Humour as Power; Political Discourse and the Language of Advertising.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students should be able to carry out systematic analysis of differing forms of language in different contexts of use. The moudle should help students to analyse a range of texts and practices, understand the ways in which language is used to exercise control, understand the anatomy of texts and text-types, especially print and broadcast media, and advertising discourse. Also analyse critically the interrelation between powerful institutions and the discourses they disseminate in the public sphere. Students should also further develop effective oral and written communication skills.

  Skills

  Students are invited to think in new ways about the English language in relation to its social and political context. Students should also develop skill in unpacking a variety of spoken and written texts, and in developing arguments about the way language practice is informed by and reinforces relationships of power. It is hoped that the course itself acts as an empowering tool, helping students to interrogate the discourse that surrounds them in everyday social contexts.

  Coursework

  80%

  Examination

  20%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENL2002

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The American South 1619-1865 (20 credits)

  ×

  The American South 1619-1865

  Overview

  In a nation which would later commit itself to upholding the ideals of freedom and democracy, the early American South developed a distinct social order based on the enslavement and subordination of Africans and their descendants. This course will explore the development of southern distinctiveness over two centuries, from the evolution of racial ideology in the early Chesapeake to the armed defence of the South's "peculiar institution" in the Civil War.

  Learning Outcomes

  To explore and understand the unique development and problems of the American South.

  Skills

  The ability to analyse and explain orally and on paper, the complex issues relating to the topic.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2028

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Foundations for Speech Analysis: The Phonetics of English (20 credits)

  ×

  Foundations for Speech Analysis: The Phonetics of English

  Overview

  This module offers you an introduction to the study of speech analysis. We begin by investigating the mechanisms which are used to produce speech and providing a framework for the convenient classification and description of pronunciation features. We then examine accent variation, in terms of aspects such as contextual effects, intonation and voice quality. Finally, the module gives you the chance to acquire an understanding of the acoustic characteristics of speech. Throughout the module, you will be required to develop your oral and aural skills in phonetics by means of various practical and online facilities. While the module concentrates on normal English speech, we may also have the opportunity to consider data from non-English speech and from non-normal speech.

  Learning Outcomes

  This module should give a practical grounding in phonetics. Knowledge of how speech works is needed for a variety of occupations. Students intending to teach English will find phonetic skills essential in implementing oracy and literacy requirements in the classroom. Drama students can benefit from phonetic knowledge in order to deal with voice production, projection and accent learning. For foreign language learners and teachers, phonetics is invaluable in achieving target pronunciations. Future students of linguistics and communication should find that phonetics complements their study of linguistic communications and, finally, those interested in communication disorders need a detailed knowledge of speech production and perception in order to understand specific impairments and their effects..

  Skills

  When you have completed this module, you should be able to apply your knowledge of speech production and variation to a variety of communicative and educational situations. By means of your aural and oral training, you should have developed skills in detailed, analytic listening and in accurate perception, production and transcription of various phonetic distinctions. The 50% essay should enable you to acquire and demonstrate ability in critical assessment of, for example, the role of a speaker's phonetic profile in achieving particular communicative ends.

  Coursework

  70%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  30%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENL2001

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Politics and Society in 19th Century Ireland (20 credits)

  ×

  Politics and Society in 19th Century Ireland

  Overview

  The union and post-union government of Ireland; the development of nationalism and unionism in their different forms; the relationship between religion, politics and society; economic and social development, the famine and emigration; gender relations and the family; the land question and attempts to resolve it; Home Rule and resistance to it; Ireland’s relations with the British empire.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students should understand the key developments in Ireland’s political and social history over the course of the nineteenth century, in terms of continuities and changes.

  Skills

  The acquisition, weighing and assessment of historical information and interpretation. Analytical skills in interpreting and critiquing primary sources. Development of presentation skills involving the analysis and interpretation of material and articulation of evidence-based argument.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2011

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Irish Literature (20 credits)

  ×

  Irish Literature

  Overview

  This module introduces students to the extraordinary diversity and achievement of Irish literature, from the Act of Union in 1800 to the late twentieth century. The module is chronologically structured, and places particular emphasis on situating texts in their wider historical contexts, as well as developing their relations to broader European movements and traditions. Encompassing poetry, fiction, and drama, the module considers a range of themes, such as romanticism, gender, the gothic, cultural nationalism, the politics of modernity, liminality and exile, and northern perspectives on an Irish tradition. Writers studied will include W. B. Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and Seamus Heaney.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module the student should have an ability to set Irish literature in its historical context; an ability to make connections between differing genres of Irish writing; an ability to scrutinise the politics of Irish writing.

  Skills

  On completion of this module you should have an ability to set Irish literature in its historical context; an ability to make connections between differing genres of Irish writing and an ability to scrutinise the politics of Irish writing.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2081

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Roman Origins of the East and West; From Augustus to Charlemagne (20 credits)

  ×

  The Roman Origins of the East and West; From Augustus to Charlemagne

  Overview

  This course focuses on one of the most exciting periods in the formation of the East and West, namely, the transition between the ancient and medieval worlds. Invasions of ‘barbarian’ hordes across the Rhine and Danube frontiers in the fifth and sixth centuries ended a stable system; in the seventh and eighth centuries, the invasions came from the south, as the forces of Islam exploded from Arabia and changed the Mediterranean Sea from a Roman lake to a contested frontier. In response to these political changes, individuals such as Augustine, Jerome, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzos, Basil of Nyssa and John Chrysostom sought to incorporate the Classical heritage into the Christian life. Beginning with the Emperor Augustus, this course charts the development of the Roman empire and surveys its major institutions and culture, from the mechanics of autocracy to the character of polytheism. The success of Christianity within this empire is examined, particularly in relation to persecution and the ways in which the triumphant Christian church shaped ‘late antiquity’ are explored. This world, however, became subject to forces of change that transformed it dramatically. The course proceeds to highlight the significance of Theoderic, King of the Ostrogoths, who strove to unify Roman and barbarian cultures. It also examines Justinian the Great, the Byzantine emperor, whose attempt to reunite the Roman world ultimately failed. This course looks at Rome’s successor states in the East and West, namely medieval Byzantium, Frankish Gaul, Ostrogothic Italy and Visigothic Spain. The emphasis is on the theme of continuity and change. We look at how the Franks, having conquered Gaul, drew on Roman imperial and Christian ideology to legitimise their authority; how the Visigoths, having established their authority in Spain, produced a remarkably rich Roman-based culture; how the Romans of Byzantium, under hammer blows of Gothic, Hunnic and Muslim invasions, forged an enduring Byzantine culture combining Roman polity, Greek civilisation and Christian religion.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Help students think critically, reason logically and evaluate evidence.
  • Develop students’ written and communication skills.
  • Encourage critical appraisal of historical sources.
  • Enable students make effective use of electronic sources

  Skills

  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Late Roman and early medieval history.
  • Make conceptual links between different historical periods and places.
  • Trace concepts and ideas over time.
  • Critically evaluate historical issues and problems in this field.
  • Write essays and develop arguments, making extensive use of both primary and secondary literature in the field

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2049

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Nationalism and Liberation in 20th Century Africa (20 credits)

  ×

  Nationalism and Liberation in 20th Century Africa

  Overview

  Nationalism has been a key factor in African history since the late 19th Century. How has it emerged, under what forms, how has it evolved, when and how did it become a mass ideology, and what happened to it after the independence of African states in the second half of the 20th Century? This module offers a critical look at these themes, focusing on ideas, cultures and the politics of nationalism and liberation. The module considers different theories and articulate their discussion to a consideration of diverse case studies, e.g. Ghana, Congo, Angola, Mozambique, and South Africa.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students who successfully complete the module should
  • Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the history of Africa in the late 19th and 20th centuries;
  • Be able to develop critical arguments about nationalism, liberation and the non-Western world;
  • Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the requirements of essay writing, archival work, and oral presentation.

  Skills

  Critical writing; archival research; oral presentation.
  Archival research will be kept to a minimum, in an archive in Belfast or online. The oral presentation will be a presentation of archival material to be used for the second essay.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2061

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Recording History (20 credits)

  ×

  Recording History

  Overview

  Students should develop knowledge of twentieth-century social history through a case-study of Belfast. By conducting their own interview, and analysing those conducted by the other members of the group, students should develop a working knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of oral history as a research method and thus enhance their understanding of the broader methodological issues posed by research in modern social history. They should develop team-working skills (through collaborative research on their chosen topic), as well as their capacity for independent learning (through the conduct of one-to-one interviews and the transcription and analysis of those interviews). Oral presentational skills will be developed through reporting on work-in-progress in seminars. The module will, therefore, significantly enhance many of the skills related to the types of employment to which history graduates aspire, i.e. team-working, interpersonal skills, the ability to synthesize large bodies of information, and the compilation of written reports.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, students should have acquired the following skills:
  
  Team-working (through collaborative research on your chosen topic)
  A capacity for independent learning (through the conduct of one-to-one interviews and the transcription and analysis of those interviews).
  Oral presentational and interpersonal skills will be developed through reporting on work-in-progress in seminars and by carrying interviewing.
  The ability to synthesize large bodies of information
  The ability to compile professionally prepared written reports.

  Skills

  Taking Recording History should enable students to:
  
  develop skills in the collection and analysis of primary sources
  gain experience of project management
  develop research skills
  gain experience of pitching project ideas in a non-academic context
  develop experience of the professional compilation and presentation of research results, including footnoting, referencing

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2063

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Revolutionary Europe, 1500-1789 (20 credits)

  ×

  Revolutionary Europe, 1500-1789

  Overview

  The module will examine the revolutionary developments in Europe from the age of the high Renaissance around 1500 to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 and its aftermath. Although the course content will be structured and delivered chronologically, the main focus of the module will be on those specific events and developments that historians have labelled ‘revolutionary’. Included in the analysis will be the cultural innovations brought on by the Renaissance, the upheavals in the religious world effected by the Reformation, the social and political changes associated with the rise of the state, and the revolution in forms of thought (from the scientific to the political) that emerged during the Age of Enlightenment. The module will end with a close study of the French Revolution, which was in many ways the culmination of the events and developments that make up the content of the module.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students should acquire knowledge of the main historical developments of early modern European history and the extent to which the various revolutionary aspects of the age (from the religious and the cultural to the social and political) led to a fundamental reshaping of society and provided the foundations for the making of the modern age. The student should acquire knowledge and understanding of these historical developments in historical context, by which is meant they should acquire an understanding of the cause, consequences, and basic histories of developments such as the Renaissance, Reformation, state formation, and the rise of political revolution. They should also be able to place the specific developments within the broader dynamic of early modern history, thus acquiring a knowledge of how the various revolutions during this period influenced each other.

  Skills

  The module should enable the student to develop the following skills:
  
  Analytical Thinking: the ability to identify, understand, interpret and evaluate relevant subject-specific arguments made by others; to construct independent arguments;
  Critical & Independent Thinking: the ability to think critically and construct one’s own position in relation to existing and ongoing debates in the field;
  Communication Skills: ability to communicate clearly with others, both orally and in writing;
  Efficient and Effective Work Practice: demonstrate the ability to work efficiently to deadlines for both written work and tutorial presentations;
  Clear Organisation of Information: show efficiency in the organisation of large amounts of complex information and the ability to identify, describe and analyse the key features of the information.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2057

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The making of contemporary Britain: 1914 to the present (20 credits)

  ×

  The making of contemporary Britain: 1914 to the present

  Overview

  The course examines key debates in British history between 1914 and the present and complements "The making of modern Britain". It charts political, economic and social change in twentieth century Britain, including decolonisation and the loss of empire.

  Learning Outcomes

  At the end of the module, students should have developed an increased ability to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of contemporary British history as well as an enhanced ability to critically evaluate historical issues and problems in this field. Increased ability to discuss key historiographical debates relating to contemporary Britain. Students should also have enhanced ability to prepare written analyses of a primary source that draws upon key secondary literature. Increased ability to gather and synthesise material.

  Skills

  Students should develop an enhanced ability to think critically, reason logically and evaluate evidence, as well as to have further developed written and communication skills. They should also have an increased critical appraisal of and engagement with historical sources. Enhanced ability to make effective use of a range of sources.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2018

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Expansion of Medieval Europe, 1000-1300 (20 credits)

  ×

  The Expansion of Medieval Europe, 1000-1300

  Overview

  A dramatic expansion of medieval Europe occurred between about 1000-1300. This module will explore the growth of kingship and state formation, but will cover not only political history, but also economic and social, religious and cultural change. The main historical themes that dominated and shaped the history of Europe in the central Middle Ages will be explored with a focus on those institutions that laid the foundations for the formation of modern Europe.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students should acquire knowledge of the history of medieval Europe and be able to recognize and evaluate historical debates relating to the content of the module; be able to engage with historical interpretations and to judge between them; be able to evaluate the strengths and limitations of the principal primary sources relating to the module; be able to write informed and critical analysis of the historical issues and problems explored in the module.

  Skills

  Development of skills in critically analysing, contextualising and evaluating different types of written evidence; development of a critical understanding and appraisal of different types of historical writing and of approaches and concepts used by historians;; development of writing skills through formative and assessed coursework and a timed examination; development of oral communicative skills through tutorial presentation.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2047

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Europe between the Wars, 1919-1939 (20 credits)

  ×

  Europe between the Wars, 1919-1939

  Overview

  The course will stress the major themes and distinctive modern conflicts of the interwar period, particularly those resulting from World War I and leading to World War II. Considerable attention will be given to the rise of fascism, Nazism and other forms of right-wing authoritarianism. The internationalisation of the Spanish Civil War will be used as a case study to explore political polarisation and the gradual collapse of the post-Versailles order. Throughout the course, students will become familiar with the cultural and social implications of the interwar clash of ideologies, including the impact on women, children and ethnic minorities.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, students should be able to demonstrate: 1) an understanding of the main political developments that occurred in Europe between the end of the Great War and the outbreak of the Second World War 2) an understanding of the principal phases of the breakdown of the Versailles order 3) an understanding of the reasons for the rise to power of Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler, and the social and political consequences of these dictatorships 4) an understanding of the impact of left and right-wing authoritarianism on ethnic minorities, women and children 5) an awareness of the historiography of the interwar period and an ability to engage in key debates on the subject

  Skills

  On completion of this module, students should have acquired the following skills: 1) the ability to engage critically with various kinds of historical evidence, including primary and secondary literature, official documents, documentary and fiction film, photography and the press 2) the ability to distil historical research into a cogent, well-written, well-organized and well-argued essay 3) the ability to engage with confidence and authority in critical discussions with classmates and the tutor on a wide variety of themes related to Interwar Europe 4) the ability to formulate original responses to questions on Europe between the war based on research, reading and tutorial discussion.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS2050

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Mapping the Anglo-Saxon World (20 credits)

  ×

  Mapping the Anglo-Saxon World

  Overview

  This module aims to map the world of the Anglo-Saxons through their language, literature and material culture. Students will learn about the heroic past and values of the Anglo-Saxons, magical rituals and prognostications, and systems of faith and beliefs. A fascinating range of texts and genres from the period (c. 7th-11th centuries) will be studied in relation to their cultural context and audience. These include: heroic poetry; elegies; riddles, charms and prognostications; historiography; and biblical writings. Students will engage with selected texts in the original language and consider issues of literary interpretation and translation. They will also be introduced to concepts of authorship, gender, genre, time, health, self, otherness and religion. Students will become familiar with the basics of Old English literary and religious vocabulary and acquire a working knowledge of the Old English manuscript tradition.

  Learning Outcomes

  To introduce the study of Old English; to introduce the world of Anglo-Saxon literature and culture.

  Skills

  Having completed the module, students should have acquired the basics of Old English grammar and poetics, the ability to translate and discuss critically selected Old English texts and to relate texts to their cultural and historical contexts.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  2

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG2003

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

• Year 3

  Core Modules

  Optional Modules

  Irish Gothic (20 credits)

  ×

  Irish Gothic

  Overview

  This module explores Ireland’s unique contribution to the Gothic through an extraordinary range of texts that encompasses classics of the genre (such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula) alongside lesser-known writers such as Gerald Griffin and James Clarence Mangan. Whilst the reading for the module exemplifies the formal diversity of the genre, particular emphasis is placed on the accelerating use of the short story as a literary vehicle for terror (notably in the work of Sheridan Le Fanu and Elizabeth Bowen). The module pursues several interrelated lines of intellectual inquiry: the longstanding perception of Ireland as a site of Gothic horror; the role of Gaelic folklore and myth in creating supernatural terror; the reception and development of Gothic themes in Irish writing; and current critical debates in the field. In tracing the widespread prevalence of Gothic motifs and themes, the module seeks to delineate the contours of a distinctive aesthetic, and reflects on questions of colonial and gender politics, as well as dilemmas of national and sexual identities as they appear in the dark glass of Irish Gothic writing.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completing this module, students should have a thorough knowledge of the Gothic genre as it developed in Irish writing, and be able to identify and expand upon the distinctive formal and thematic features of this literary tradition. Students should also be able to situate texts in a range of relevant contexts, relating Gothic motifs and themes to the historical and cultural particularities of their production. Students should also gain good understanding of the current critical debates surrounding Irish Gothic writing.

  Skills

  Over the course of the module, students should develop/acquire the following skills:
  • to analyse primary and secondary material in a scholarly manner;
  • to research appropriate critical and historical material on any given literary topic;
  • to edit and present scholarly arguments and literary analyses to peers;
  • to negotiate a ranging critical field, and situate in relation to it their own analytical perspective.

  Coursework

  80%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  20%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3330

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Stevens & Bishop (20 credits)

  ×

  Stevens & Bishop

  Overview

  This module examines in depth the work of two major twentieth-century American poets: Wallace Stevens and Elizabeth Bishop. The work of the module will divide evenly between the two writers, with the first five weeks concentrating on Stevens and the second five on Bishop. Students will engage with two main texts (the collected poems of each poet) and assess their writings either in terms of individual collections or as examples of a longer career in poetry.

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, students should have a thorough knowledge of the work of both Wallace Stevens and Elizabeth Bishop within a range of particular contexts: their connection to other poetic movements or schools or traditions; their place within a canon of twentieth-century American poetry; their relation to philosophical movements, both within the United States and further afield; and of how their poems work as poetry. They will also be familiar with other examples of Stevens’ and Bishop’s writing, whether in the form of letters, essays, or in prose and how these assist in the understanding of their poetry within related contexts.

  Skills

  Students will develop the ability to read and critically analyse poetry in a range of forms and modes: short poems; philosophical poems; narrative poems; long poems. Their skills in assessing fundamental examples of twentieth-century American poetry between 1923 and 1976 will be enhanced by a range of approaches: comparing poems by Stevens or by Bishop from across her/his oeuvre, and/or by comparing the work of both writers; by reading their work in relation to key critical and contextual understandings of their contemporary moments (Modernism, late Modernism, World Wars 1 and 2, the Depression, the Middle Generation). Students taking this module will develop an appreciation of poetry on its own terms as exemplified by two giants of the form in the United States.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3333

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Sin Cities? Everyday Life in the Modern Metropolis (20 credits)

  ×

  Sin Cities? Everyday Life in the Modern Metropolis

  Overview

  What, when and - perhaps most importantly - where was modernity? Were cities merely the inactive sites or containers of emerging economic, social and cultural processes, or was urbanity a fundamental part of what it meant to be living in a ‘modern age’? ‘Sin Cities’ explores these questions through the study of metropolitan centres in the Western world between c.1880-1939. You will be taken through urban life in places such as London, New York, Paris and Berlin – and the pleasures, anxieties and identities that they came to represent.
  
  The course begins with the late-nineteenth century growth of both academic and popular belief in the idea that cities were now somehow different to what had come before – new, shocking, and possibly the end (or maybe the beginning?) of Western society. Following lectures and tutorials range widely across a diverse field of analytical approaches and topics, including: sexuality sub-cultures; shopping and entertainment; miscegenation and ‘slumming’; prostitution and ‘sexual danger’; and the rise of urban sociology. We will end the module by debating the importance of the ‘urban variable’, and its value as a distinct category of historical analysis.

  Learning Outcomes

  i) Students will acquire knowledge and understanding of urban history as a specific discipline.
  ii) Students will be able to critique the concept of ‘modernity’ in a Western framework.
  ii) Students will hone their capability to understand different theoretical approaches (gender, class, sexuality) relevant to social history more broadly.
  iv) Students will be able to understand the history of different countries in a comparative framework.

  Skills

  i) Students will enhance their ability to critically analyse different primary sources in connection with secondary literature.
  ii) Students will increase their confidence and ability to orally present analysis and argument, working in groups.
  iii) Students will increase their ability to organise and synthesise secondary literature in a coherent argument.

  Coursework

  60%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  40%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3128

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Ancient City (20 credits)

  ×

  The Ancient City

  Overview

  This module considers the ancient Greco-Roman city as a dynamic form of settlement, from its origins in archaic Greece to its demise (or transformation) in the late antique West. Our readings will include ancient discussions of the political and economic roles of cities and of urban architecture and design, as well as depictions in prose and poetry of everyday life in imperial Rome and classical Athens. We will also examine the material remains of these two ancient “mega-cities” and of the smaller but well-preserved cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. We will attempt to formulate our own definition(s) of the ancient city, and we will trace changes in the organization and uses of urban space, and in ancient writers’ conceptions of the political, social, economic, and religious roles of cities, over the course of classical antiquity.

  Learning Outcomes

  - An understanding of the historical and geographical diversity of ancient Mediterranean urbanism.
  - An ability to recognize and evaluate historical debates (both ancient and modern) relating to the development of the Greco-Roman city.
  - An ability to evaluate the wide range of textual and material-cultural evidence pertaining to the Greco-Roman city.

  Skills

  - The ability to engage with historical interpretations and to judge between them, both orally and in written form.
  - The ability to evaluate the strengths and limitations of diverse primary and secondary sources.
  - The ability to locate relevant sources and to construct a consistent written argument from them.
  - The confidence to discuss, present and articulate arguments to peers.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3129

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Contemporary Literature: Poetry and Precariousness in the Twenty-First Century (20 credits)

  ×

  Contemporary Literature: Poetry and Precariousness in the Twenty-First Century

  Overview

  This module investigates the way in which the contemporary era is registered in a range of texts published in the twenty-first century. Precariousness is central to its reflection on the contemporary period and condition. It considers the precariousness of political economies, state security, ecology and social bonds, to ask if and how contemporary literary form registers precariousness, syntactically, structurally and in its modes of speech and address, and what alternatives it might offer to the precarious contemporary condition. Beginning with an introduction to neoliberalism, the module will consider the contemporary period by encompassing debt and accumulation, collective life, contemporary warfare and violence, non-human animals and environments, and networked, digital technologies. It includes satirical short stories, long poems addressing contemporary crises, lyric depictions of modern warfare and violence, individual volumes that examine non-human animals, plant and mineral life, traditional lyric forms and cut and paste poetics.

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, students should have a good understanding of the contemporary era and an increased understanding of how precariousness characterises contemporary experience. They should be able to identify prevailing concerns and anxieties in the contemporary period, and the variety of formal responses to such concerns in a range of twenty-first century texts. They will have developed the ability to evaluate the significance of political, social, and ideological contexts in the interpretation of contemporary literature. They will should have honed the ability to relate contemporary texts fruitfully to theoretical and secondary material. They will have developed the special ability to read and analyse individual volumes of poetry and thus read individual lyrics in the context and structure of a whole work.

  Skills

  Students will develop the ability to read and critically analyse of a number of forms of literary texts, including short stories, long poems, epistolary verse, short-line forms and collage poetry. They will enhance their skills in comparative analysis, and in relating set texts to a variety of approaches to and interpretations of the contemporary period. They will hone their ability to research historical and cultural material, and to bring relevant contextual information to bear on their critical writing. From their acquired knowledge of critical reflections on the contemporary period, they will develop a critical discernment in relation to competing arguments and interpretations of contemporary literature.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3184

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Writing New York, 1880-1940 (20 credits)

  ×

  Writing New York, 1880-1940

  Overview

  This course explores the development of New York literature, from the social milieu of Washington Square in the 1880s, through to the experimentations of Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance, and finally to the demise of the Urban ideal after the Second World War. Topics covered here include: socio-economic tensions in the Gilded Age; the development of a specifically American Naturalism; the different ways in which those who were marginalised from the city represented their experience; the unique nature of New York impressionist writing; Jazz-Age New York; the emergence of ‘noir’ New York; the ‘death’ of American cities and the nostalgia for the New York of the early twentieth century in the years of the city’s Nadir.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students completing this module should be able to:
  • demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the politics and practice of writing about New York in the period 1880-1940.
  • show knowledge of the development of New York literature, as well as the way that literature incorporated and revised European models of writing .
  • understand the ways in which different areas of the city have very different literary and cultural practices.
  • explore the ways in which marginalized groups (African Americans, European Migrants), negotiated the city and found new ways of representing it.
  • undertake research using historical material (literary, social, political, cultural.

  Skills

  • understanding and incorporating critical thinking, including specific terminology, into discussions of texts.
  • comparing and contrasting texts within the same socio-historical constraints
  • analyzing texts closely and locating them firmly within their socio-historical context.
  • presenting within given formats and to a required standard, coherent and well-substantiated analyses and arguments, both orally and in writing.
  • studying independently; demonstrating an ability to incorporate tutor feedback into written work.
  • engaging in classroom debate and foster a vibrant intellectual environment.
  • reflecting on these learning processes.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3183

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Rise of Christianity 2: The Conversion of the Roman Empire (20 credits)

  ×

  The Rise of Christianity 2: The Conversion of the Roman Empire

  Overview

  A study of the growth of the Christian community within the Roman world from the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (AD 70) to the death of Constantine the Great (AD 337). Students will assess the variety and character of early Christian teaching; the appearance and definition of heresies; the literary interaction between the upholders of Roman religio and Christians; the nature and extent of persecution within the Roman empire; the conversion of Constantine the Great (c. AD 312) and its significance for the Roman empire.

  Learning Outcomes

  To understand the methods used for the resconstruction of an historical topic and acquire advanced perspectives of early Christianity in its Roman context.

  Skills

  Advanced development of skills of analysis and evaluation, in particular the organization and interpretation of widely scattered and frequently fragmentary source material.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3071

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Representing the Working Class (20 credits)

  ×

  Representing the Working Class

  Overview

  This course aims to explore the writing and culture of the working class, to ask how socio-economic distinctions inflect judgements of ‘taste’, and to develop an understanding of the historical role of class in shaping identities across ethno-nationalist lines. A good deal of scholarship in recent decades has signalled a growing awareness of British working-class writing, though Irish Studies, by comparison, has tended to neglect issues of social class. We will therefore engage the more substantial body of scholarship on British working-class literature to inform our discussion of Irish working-class writers, signalling new and exciting possibilities for future scholarship.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this course, students will have refined their broad critical understanding of key thinkers in cultural materialist and left-wing literary theory. They will have applied this understanding to over a dozen key texts (including films), engaging a range of historical and social contexts across twentieth-century British and Irish writing, analysing the recurrence of key themes and ideas in working-class writing. Students will also have related these readings to developments in postcolonial, postmodern and feminist theories, where applicable, drawing on a broad range of cultural and intellectual perspectives.

  Skills

  During this module, students will have the opportunity to practise the following skills:
  - Critical analysis of key debates in literary and cultural theory;
  - Engagement with interdisciplinary debates regarding historiography and the sociology of culture;
  - Application of learning to key texts in working-class writing;
  - Comparative analysis of literary and filmic representations and conventions;
  - Writing critically and reflectively;
  - Presentation skills.

  Coursework

  80%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  20%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3064

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Further Adventures in Shakespeare (20 credits)

  ×

  Further Adventures in Shakespeare

  Overview

  The module content is divided generically. Students will read across the whole range of Shakespeare’s works and sample comedy, history, tragedy, the Roman plays, and the romances. There are also sessions on what are termed ‘problem plays’ and ‘unfamiliar Shakespeare’ – texts not often staged or discussed. The rich sample investigated means that a corresponding range of themes and approaches will be identified and explored.
  There is no overlap between texts on this module and those taught elsewhere at Stages 2 or 3.
  Students will be asked to buy two set texts - The Norton Shakespeare, ed. Stephen Greenblatt (New York: Norton, 1997), which will have been purchased for Introduction to Renaissance Literature, and Stanley Wells and Lena Cowen Orlin, eds, An Oxford Guide to Shakespeare (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).

  Learning Outcomes

  Having successfully completed this module, students should have become familiar with the main genres within which Shakespeare wrote. Students should be able to analyse the Shakespearean text in depth and relate it to its moment of production. Students should have honed their presentational skills and, through regular teamwork, learned the value of collaborative practice.

  Skills

  Subject specific knowledge (Shakespeare, genre, context)
  Close-reading
  Oral and written communication skills
  Teamwork
  Presentational skills

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3182

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Stylistics: Analysing Style in Language (20 credits)

  ×

  Stylistics: Analysing Style in Language

  Overview

  Stylistics is the application of analytical models and methods from linguistics to rhetorical texts, including (but not limited to) fictional and persuasive texts. In this module, the students are introduced to the analytical frameworks used in contemporary Stylistics, which draw on a range of approaches from Pragmatics, Corpus Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology. The frameworks are applied to texts to demonstrate how the linguistic patterns employed lead to stylistic effects. The students will practice applying the models to a variety of texts, identifying the linguistic features that contribute towards style in language.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, students will have an understanding of the key frameworks used in stylistic analysis and the ability to apply them to rhetorical texts. Through practising this application, students will learn to identify patterns in the linguistic features that lead to stylistic effects. Consequently, students will have a heightened awareness of the use of language for artful and persuasive purposes.
  
  As well as subject-specific outcomes, students will gain from this module more generally by learning methods in the qualitative analysis of texts, to write critically and to present an argument clearly.

  Skills

  During this module, students will have the opportunity to acquire the following skills:
  
  Module-specific:
  - Linguistic analysis of rhetorical texts
  - Criticism of linguistic theory and practice
  - Identification of formal linguistic features
  
  Generic:
  - Qualitative research methods
  - Writing critically and reflectively
  - Presentation skills

  Coursework

  80%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  20%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENL3011

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Work-based Learning (20 credits)

  ×

  Work-based Learning

  Overview

  This module provides an opportunity for student to utilise disciplinary skills in a work-based environment within the context of reflective practice. Students will negotiate suitable placements in consultation with their academic supervisor and participate in a programme of related classes and events. Simulated work-based projects in which students work in groups with the support of the university’s Enterprise Unit in the Students’ Union are also possible.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, students should have:
  Increased ability to relate academic theory to the work environment
  A developed understanding of the organisational culture, policies and processes
  The ability to reflexively and critically evaluate their own learning from the placement
  An appreciation of enterprise and innnovation
  Enhanced career knowledge

  Skills

  Employability skills, including effective communication, teamworking and problem-solving.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  AEL3001

  Teaching Period

  Full Year

  Duration

  24 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Surviving the Victorian city: poverty, welfare and public health in nineteenth-century Belfast (20 credits)

  ×

  Surviving the Victorian city: poverty, welfare and public health in nineteenth-century Belfast

  Overview

  Using Belfast as a case study, this module will explore the dichotomy between industrial and economic growth and the poverty and disease that accompanied it with the emergence of the industrial city in nineteenth-century Ireland and Britain. We will examine the social conditions that accompanied industrialisation and urbanisation and the experiences of the poorest in society as they sought to survive the city. We will seek to understand the various factors that led families into destitution, the ways in which they sought to get by, and how they engaged with welfare authorities and the workhouse as a last resort. We will also examine societal attitudes towards poverty and disease and explore the attempts by welfare and civic authorities to tackle these. There will be an emphasis on the role of the poor law in health and welfare in the latter half of the century, and a focus on the experience of specific groups such as women, children, and the sick.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students will identify the main factors that drove Belfast’s urban and industrial growth during the nineteenth century and will be able to place this in the wider context of both Ireland and Britain. They will understand the social consequences of rapid urbanisation and the challenges around poverty and public health that this presented, and will engage with historiographical debates around poverty and welfare in the nineteenth-century city. They will develop a clear understanding of the poor law and how it operated in the nineteenth-century city.
  
  They will critically examine a range of primary sources, examining how these can be approached in order to uncover attitudes towards poverty and the poor and the ways in which society sought to address poverty, destitution and disease. In particular students will become familiar with the types of sources that can help uncover the lived experiences of the poorest in society.

  Skills

  Students will improve their critical skills and their ability to engage with historiographical debates. They will develop their ability to locate and use a range of primary sources and to apply these appropriately to independent historical research Students will develop their communication skills, understanding and articulating complex ideas in a variety of written forms, and engaging in discussion and debate over a range of issues.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3140

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Exceptional Origins of the American Republic (20 credits)

  ×

  The Exceptional Origins of the American Republic

  Overview

  The Italian Renaissance statesman, political philosopher and historian Niccolò Machiavelli is best known for his treatise The Prince. Machiavelli’s creation of the archetype of the autocratic ruler has been admired by countless statesmen, historians and political scientists ever since.
  
  It may therefore come as a surprise that the righteous “New World” Founders of the American Republic were almost without exception devoted followers of the “Old World” Machiavellian Prince. John Adams, for one, confessed that he was a keen “student” of Machiavelli, dubbing him “the restorer of true politics,” and a man who had brought about a “revival of reason in matters of government.” Needless to say, this poses some awkward questions around what Adams lovingly described as “Our pure, virtuous, public spirited federative Republick.”
  
  But Machiavelli was not the only political thinker the American Founders turned to for ideas about how to build a new Republic that would withstand the test of time. In fact, they read just about every author who had written on the rise and fall of states. This poses a range of intriguing historical, political and constitutional questions. For if the nation state that the Americans cobbled together from examples they had found in previous philosophers, political historians and other writers, then how did they come up with the idea for an America that was ‘exceptional’ and hence unique among modern nations?
  
  In this module we will be exploring America’s supposedly “exceptional” liberal tradition, destined by God himself to thrive for ever in a Republic beyond the reach of despotism, in which governments exists solely because they derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” And yet for many outside America, it is a nation that is socially, racially, economically, politically, ecologically, and morally broken. That said, America put humans on the moon (surely for some good reason) and relieved the world of many a dictator (though often not for legitimate reasons). And those who like to take aim at America’s social deprivation and capitalist greed, need to explain why socialism never even came close to getting a foothold in the country.
  
  In this module we will be looking at how the nation that arose from the American Revolution and subsequently put its undisputable mark on the course of history (for better or for worse), comes across to many non-Americans as a phenomenon that is self-contradictory, if not wholly irrational. For that reason, this module sits at the confluence of political idealism and historical experience. Methodologically, the topic is wedged between the history of ideas and what may be described the history of fact or event.

  Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of this module, students will:
  
  
  • Be able to integrate the history and politics of the US within world historical, political and cultural developments, particularly within a transatlantic context
  • Be able to recognize recognize the key social and political events that marked the settlement of the Americas and the creation of the United States
  • have gained an understanding of the processes of colonization, nationhood, and identity formation in the context of the America
  • will be able to negotiate the different disciplinary aims and methodologies of the history of ideas and history proper
  • will have an understanding of the interdependent relation between a nation’s—notably America—ideas and ideologies on the one hand, and historical event and experience on the other

  Skills

  • are able to use primary sources in fashioning arguments
  • are able to analyze and interpret historiographical, literary, sociopolitical and philosophical sources as well as cultural artefacts
  • can make constructive contributions to class discussions and reproduce relevant material under exam conditions
  • have some grasp of how to situate their own interpretations of this period in a broader historiographical fabric have improved oral and writing skills
  • Students will learn to build these sources first into their essay, and then into their take-home exam essays.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3142

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Analysing Language: Exploring linguistic structures of English (20 credits)

  ×

  Analysing Language: Exploring linguistic structures of English

  Overview

  By exploring aspects of the grammar and syntax of English, this module will familiarise students with rules, principles, and processes that determine the structure of sentences in language. The course will also equip them with the appropriate methodological skills for the empirical analysis of language data and for the formal representation of data (i.e. phrase structure trees) to display the various operations that they will be introduced to throughout the module. Typical topics that will be covered include phrase structure, argument structure, case, agreement, noun phrase structure, binding and movement (although not necessarily all in each year).

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, students will have a solid understanding of core concepts in formal syntactic theory, as well as the fundamentals of empirical enquiry and will be able to apply this theory to natural language data and account for the linguistic variation observed in English and related varieties.

  Skills

  By the end of the module, students will be able to identify lexical categories, apply syntactic tests for constituency locate clause boundaries in complex sentences and draw trees for basic English sentences. The students will be able to show how a restricted set of principles can account for a wide range of the phenomena of English syntax. Students will also develop critical thinking skills through the examination of different explanatory approaches to problems in the syntax of English and related varieties.

  Coursework

  80%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  20%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENL3001

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Extermination: History and Memory of the Murdered Jews of Europe (20 credits)

  ×

  Extermination: History and Memory of the Murdered Jews of Europe

  Overview

  This is a final-year UG taught module devoted to the destruction of European Jewry during the Second World War. The module will treat separately the following components of the history and memory of an event often referred to as the Holocaust or Shoah, but here called “the Extermination”: 1. The origins of the Jewish peoples some 5,000 years ago and their eventual settlement in North Africa and Europe near the end of the Ancient period. 2. The flowering of Jewish culture in the Middle Ages and Early Modern periods. 3. The growth of antisemitism and anti-Jewish pogroms across Europe from the late 19th C., spawning successive waves of emigration. 4. The peculiar qualities of Nazified antisemitism in Germany from 1933, included the piecemeal and soon wholesale denial of civil rights for German Jews. 5. Wartime escalation of the persecution of Jews, both in Germany and across occupied Europe. 6. The transition to ghettoization, and then extermination, resulting in the murder of six million Jewish persons by spring 1945. 7. The implication in the Extermination of a wide array of collaborators beyond Nazi Germans, including bystanders, neighbors, neutral governments and the Allies. 8. Post-1945 memory wars, stalled attempts at reparations and restitutions, and the creation of public history research centers and memorials. 9. The struggles to represent the Extermination, on the stage, in the cinema, on the page and in other media. 10. The more recent biological imperative for historians to reinvent Holocaust Studies as the last wartime survivors and eyewitnesses die out.

  Learning Outcomes

  * an understanding of the destruction of the Jews of Europe between 1939 and 1945, in the context of previous and later historical developments * knowledge of a variety of historical sources from this period, including official documents and the press, memoirs, novels, films and images, as well as with secondary materials and historiographical debates appearing books and articles * knowledge of the wartime European political regimes and their ideologies that gave rise to exterminationist antisemitism * an understanding of the outlook and experiences of various sectors of Jewish society over the course of WWII, including women and children * an understanding of the post-war emergence of Holocaust studies and the various ways that the Extermination was remembered, memorialised, but also trivialised and falsified * an appreciation of the depths of the problems of representation, on the screen and on the page, as well as in other forms of representation * an understanding of the key role of survivor testimonies in creating narratives of the Extermination, and the current crises of transition to a post-survivor re-invention of Holocaust studies.

  Skills

  * to promote the development of key skills required to study history effectively * the ability to identify and select information relevant to the topic area from a variety of sources * the ability to analyse and evaluate evidence and argument * the ability to present your own arguments in essays, using appropriate evidence to support your views * the ability to work effectively within a group, making appropriate contributions to discussions, debates and tasks, as well as contributing and presenting a small group presentation * to hone public speaking skills and confidence, through discussions, debates and presentations

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3139

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Diaspora: Irish 19th-century migration (20 credits)

  ×

  Diaspora: Irish 19th-century migration

  Overview

  This module investigates the making of the Irish diaspora; explores factors that led unprecedented numbers of Irish migrants to permanently leave the country of their birth in the course of the 19th century and comparatively assesses the often challenging experiences of Irish migrants in the leading host societies of Britain, the United States and Australia. It also assesses the Irish migrant outflow against the backdrop of European migration to ascertain the distinctive features of Irish 19th-century migration. Course contents: Week 1 Introduction to migration history Week 2 The Scattering: the Irish case study Week 3 The key features of a diaspora Week 4 Pre-famine migratory patterns Week 5 Famine migration Week 6 Post-famine migration Week 7 Women and Irish migration Week 8 Host society analysis I: Britain Week 9 Host society analysis II: The United States Week 10 Host society analysis III: Australia - convict migration Week 11 Host society analysis IV: Australia - free settler migration

  Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of this module, students will:
  
  In Understand the social and economic conditions in Ireland, and in recipient countries over the course of a century; Comprehend why people leave their country of birth; the difficulties and prejudices they often face in their new homelands; and the impact of migration on the place of birth and to the place of destination; Develop a wider and deeper understanding of the experience of Irish migration and the historical debates that surround the Irish diaspora; Understand the occupational and residential distribution of Irish migrants, paying particular attention to regional diversity and gender difference; An Be aware of the comparative aspect of migration studies; AN Be able to investigate migration in a rigorous academic manner Co Communicate historical arguments effectively both orally and in writing Have knowledge of Irish immigrants’ political, cultural and religious affiliation and the complex and problematic questions of ethnic identity, ethnic fade and attitudes to migrant populations which are issues of considerable contemporary resonance.

  Skills

  Managing and Prioritising Knowledge: identify relevant and subject-specific knowledge, sources and data; manage such information in an independent manner Analytical Thinking: identify, understand, interpret and evaluate relevant subject-specific arguments made by others; construct independent arguments Critical and Independent Thinking: ability to think critically and construct one’s own position in relation to existing and ongoing debates in the field professional and career development skills Communication Skills: ability to communicate clearly with others, both orally and in writing Diversity: ability to acknowledge and be sensitive to the range of cultural differences present in the learning environment Self-Reflexivity: ability to reflect on one’s own progress and identify and act upon one’s own development needs with respect to life-long learning and career development Time Management: ability to negotiate diverse and competing pressures; cope with stress; and achieve a work / life balance Practical and technical skills: demonstrate the knowledge and ability to use contemporary and relevant ICT/historical databases/online archival resources. Organisational skills: Efficient and effective work practice: demonstrate ability to work efficiently to deadlines Clear organisation of information: show efficiency in the organisation of large amounts of complex information and the ability to identify, describe and analyse the key features of the information Organisation and communication: demonstrate ability to use evidence to develop logical and clear arguments; show ability for the effective use of information in a direct and appropriate way Enterprising thinking: Demonstrate ability to think and argue in novel and enterprising ways, to display originality of thought and argument and the ability to clearly support arguments by the use of historical evidence

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3137

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Twentieth-Century China (20 credits)

  ×

  Twentieth-Century China

  Overview

  This module examines the last century for the most populous country in the world. During that period China experienced far-reaching changes and after a long submission period to the Western powers reaffirmed its central role on the global stage. In terms of political structures, there was a move from empire to republic, and then from a right wing to a left wing mono party rule. In that regard, the century can be split into before and after World War Two, when the leadership of the country was first in the hands of the Chinese Nationalist Party led by Sun Yatsen and then Chiang Kaishek, and since 1949 by the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong, then Deng Xiaoping and his successors. The twentieth century for China also witnessed epochal changes regarding society and culture, including the New Cultural Movement, the May Four Movement, the emancipation of women, and opposition to Confucian values. The course also presents the intricate foreign policy, which passed from a tributary system, to Japanese occupation, to a central player of the Cold War in Asia, and to a central player in the globalized world of today.

  Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
  • Demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of the political and social changes of twentieth-century Chinese history.
  • Confidently evaluate a range of relevant historiographical debates and approaches.
  • Analyse and evaluate in translation a variety of primary sources drawn from across the period.
  • Evaluate evidence for continuity and change across the period, and compare regional variations.

  Skills

  • Students will improve their ability to engage with and critique a variety of historical interpretations.
  • Students will develop their ability to identify and locate primary and secondary sources and to exploit them in constructing sustained and coherent arguments.
  • Students will enhance their self-confidence, team-working and oral and written communication skills by engaging in group discussions, making presentations, and submitting written work.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3132

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Paths to Independence and Decolonisation in India and East Africa (20 credits)

  ×

  Paths to Independence and Decolonisation in India and East Africa

  Overview

  This module explores different, yet interconnected, paths towards independence in India and East Africa. On the surface the Independence movements in India, Kenya and Tanzania have little in common. India became independent in 1947, Tanzania in 1961 and Kenya in 1963. Leaving aside the partition of British India into what is today India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, independence for the subcontinent was already being discussed since about the First World War, whereas Kenya saw the emergence of a strong majority national movement only after the Second World War. However, there existed cultural and political connections between the Indian Subcontinent and East Africa which played a significant role in the struggle for independence in these regions. This course aims at illuminating the circulation of political ideas and the way in which they acquired specific meaning in local contexts. Moreover, the course highlights the importance of South-South connections in the making of the modern nation-state in Asia and Africa. Students will be expected to engage with a range of interdisciplinary sources such as governmental reports, political tracts, film documentaries, oral testimony and fiction.

  Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
  Acquired knowledge and informed understanding of nationalist movements in Asia and Africa, their specific characteristics, and the connections and links between the countries studied.
  Analyzed and discussed a wide range of source materials.
  Confidently evaluate a range of relevant historiographical debates and approaches.
  Analyse a multiplicity of primary sources.
  Evaluate evidence for continuity and change across the period, and compare regional variations.

  Skills

  Students will improve their ability to engage with and critique a variety of historical interpretations.
  Students will develop their ability to identify and locate primary and secondary sources and to exploit them in constructing sustained and coherent arguments.
  Students will enhance their self-confidence, team-working and oral and written communication skills by engaging in group discussions, making presentations, and submitting written work.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3133

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Long Sexual Revolution: Family Life in Western Europe, 1945-1970s (20 credits)

  ×

  The Long Sexual Revolution: Family Life in Western Europe, 1945-1970s

  Overview

  The Second World War caused enormous upheaval to families across Europe, separating parents and children as well as couples and resulting in an estimated 11 million children having lost one or more parents by 1945. The project of the reconstruction of post-war Western European society placed a huge emphasis on reuniting families, where possible, and reconstructing the so-called traditional family. As the Cold War took hold, the idea of the ‘traditional’ – nuclear, Christian – family also came to be seen as a bulwark against the threat of Communism. However the return to traditional family life after 1945 was in large part an illusion, since the impact of war was so deep that there could be no return to normal. The long separation of war put enormous strain on the couples and families who were reunited, while aerial bombardment meant that millions had lost their homes: separation, divorce and single mothers were common features of the late 1940s. The war also changed how psychologists thought about parents and children: witnessing the trauma of children in war sparked a new focus on children and childhood in psychoanalysis.
  
  By the 1950s, Western European society was also being transformed in new ways: migration was transforming European cities into modern, multicultural spaces, while villages and farmlands across Europe were being emptied of people. The scale of social change meant that political and religious authorities also felt the so-called traditional family to be under threat, prompting moral panics about women and youth. By the late 1960s, it was clear that the ‘traditional family’ of conservative, Christian rhetoric was deeply out of touch with reality. The ‘sexual revolution’ of the 1960s gave way to wide-scale youth revolt by the end of the decade. The 1968 protests which erupted across schools and universities in France, Italy, West Germany and beyond, were above all a generational rebellion. The second-wave feminist and gay liberation movements of the 1970s continued their radical critique of the family, suggesting new communal forms of living were the answer.
  
  This module will examine the political importance of the family in the post-war reconstruction and the Cold War, setting the rhetoric of political and religious leaders against the reality of changing family life, while exploring how new ideas of family life emerged in the 1960s and 1970s. We will draw on the history of the emotions to discuss changing family relationships. We will also examine how ideas about children, childhood and adolescence changed over the late twentieth century from the fears about feral ‘wolf children’ playing in the rubble of bombed cities to the emergence of the teenager in the 1960s. While the focus will be on Western Europe, with case studies drawn from France, Britain, Italy and West Germany, we will also examine the alternative ways of thinking about the family that emerged from communism. Tutorials will focus on source analysis and discussion: primary sources will be drawn from newspapers, political posters, novels, memoirs and films as well as manifestos and oral history interviews.
  
  Weekly topics may include:
  
  Displaced children after 1945
  Returning veterans and post-war families
  The family as Cold War propaganda
  Moral panics about 1950s youth
  Race, migration and multiculturalism in Britain and France
  Migration and the family in southern Europe
  Radical ideas about family in 1960s Italy and West Germany

  Learning Outcomes

  Aims
  
  • Explore a variety of approaches to the history of the family, as they apply to late twentieth-century Europe.
  • Examine the history of family life in late twentieth-century Europe as it intersects with cultural, social and political developments in history from the impact of World War II, the rise of consumer society, developments in medicine and technology to the rise of youth cultures, counter cultures and protest movements.
  • Prompt reflection and debate about how and why the private, intimate sphere of family life can become the subject of political and religious concern.
  
  Objectives
  
  Having successfully completed the module, you should be able to:
  
  • Understand the different methodological approaches to the modern history of the family.
  • Demonstrate familiarity with a variety of different types of primary sources including personal testimonies, manifestos, fiction and mass media sources such as film, magazines and documentaries.
  • Discuss how commercial, religious and political forces have shaped people’s attitudes to family life, emotions and relationships over the course of the late twentieth century.
  • Be able to draw connections and comparisons across time and space, using the case studies covered in the module.

  Skills

  In completing this module you will develop the following skills:
  
  • Analysing and discussing a range of primary sources in textual, visual and audio-visual forms
  • Working individually and as part of a group to analyse sources and readings, and to present historical arguments
  • Examining and evaluating the arguments of other historians
  • Presenting your arguments and analyses in written form

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3023

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Contemporary Irish and Scottish Fiction Devolutionary Identities (20 credits)

  ×

  Contemporary Irish and Scottish Fiction Devolutionary Identities

  Overview

  The past decades have not only seen an increasing interest in the historical, political and economic crosscurrents between Scotland and Ireland, but they have also witnessed a remarkable literary renaissance on both sides of the Irish Sea. This course explores the transformed literary landscape of Irish and Scottish fiction since the 1980s in relation to the (d)evolutionary processes of cultural and social change in today’s Atlantic archipelago, concerning in particular the Irish Republic’s economic boom in the 1990s (commonly referred to as the ‘Celtic Tiger’), the Peace Process in Northern Ireland, and the movement towards the reconstitution of the Scottish Parliament. We will examine how these changes and the issues that they raise are reflected in an indicative selection of Irish, Northern Irish, and Scottish novels, focusing on the relationship between the formal and stylistic experiments often found in these writings and the concepts of identity, society, the nation, history, and gender that they draw on, resist, and/or give rise to. In this respect, we will pay due attention to ideas about the role of literature, gender, sexuality, class, race, and religion in the (re)construction of national identity; questions of power, authority and authenticity, and the impact of globalization on cultural production; the politics of place and the rural/urban divide; revisions and representations of history, and issues of trauma and memory; the literary use of non-standard English; narrative tropes, techniques, and typographic experiments.
  
  This course aims to establish a comparative framework in order to trace the shared concerns and noteworthy differences that characterise and constitute a significant part of the contemporary Irish and Scottish literary scene. It is designed to introduce students to dominant critical and literary paradigms as well as key debates in Irish and Scottish Studies raised by postcolonialism, postmodernism, (post-) nationalism, gender studies, and feminism. To that end, literary texts will be read alongside theoretical and cultural perspectives in both fields, copies of which will be provided in a course reader.

  Learning Outcomes

  By the end of the module, students will have gained a in-depth knowledge of 11 Irish and Scottish novels and developed an understanding of the corpus of, and crosscurrents between, contemporary Scottish and Irish fiction. The module will introduce students to dominant critical and literary paradigms as well as key debates in Irish and Scottish Studies raised by postcolonialism, postmodernism, (post-) nationalism, gender studies, and feminism. They will be able to apply the knowledge they have gained in textual analysis of contemporary Irish and Scottish fiction, expanding their sense of new developments in subject matter, literary technique, and language use.

  Skills

  Students will gain a range of subject-specific, intellectual, practical and transferable skills: they will develop their critical assessment of texts and gain deeper analytic and textual competence. They will also hone their presentation and writing skills and learn to present and discuss complex issues with clarity and cogency, both orally and in writing, write clearly and succinctly, and organise study time effectively.

  Coursework

  80%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  20%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3060

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Renaissance Performance, Gender, Space (20 credits)

  ×

  Renaissance Performance, Gender, Space

  Overview

  This module will examine gendered dimensions of performance from the late sixteenth century to the Restoration. It will introduce students to ways of reading performance via a range of playwrights, genres and theatrical contexts. Topics will include Shakespeare’s boy actors, the children’s playing companies, female performance, shifting dramatic practices and theatrical innovation. It will raise questions about performance spaces and traditions and the representation of gender, location, status, cross-dressing, the body and the actor on this stage.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students will gain knowledge of modes of representation on the Renaissance stage. They will become familiar with important developments in theatrical practices in this period. They will be able to critically reflect on the ways in which dramatic texts refract contemporary issues of gender, sexuality, status and location and to evaluate these themes across dramatic genres and performance spaces.

  Skills

  Students will develop skills of close analysis of texts in relation to Renaissance performance and cultural contexts. They will develop the ability to explore questions of gender, genre, space and performance. The module will improve students’ written and oral communication skills and enhance their abilities to develop an argument independently and through group work.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3181

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Televising the Victorians (20 credits)

  ×

  Televising the Victorians

  Overview

  This module aims to raise questions about the relation between works of fiction set in the Victorian period, and made-for-TV reappropriations of these texts. It considers the way that we ‘read’ the Victorian period through visual image, and the impact of technologies of the visual on the written word. It introduces different theoretical approaches to film, and explains, by means of example, the differences between cinema and television. It explores connection between cinematic practice (montage, the shot, editing, sound, space and mise-en-scène) and notions of writing. It will ask questions about the nature of genre, spectatorship, and issues of ideology and effect. The module will concentrate on identifying the range of different resources required to understand the flow of images on the TV screen, and will examine how ‘adaptation’ is conceptualised, particularly the ways in which the comparison of book and film is haunted by notions of faithfulness and the ‘original’ primacy of the literary work.

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, you should have refined your ability to analyse literary texts sensitively in relation to films made for TV. You should have developed your skills in constructing written and spoken analyses and arguments, based on assembling appropriate primary and secondary evidence from textual and visual media. You should have developed an ability to conceptualise adaptations, to speak in a theoretically informed manner about reappropriations of works set in the Victorian period, to distinguish between film and television as visual media, and to read visual images in such a way as to appreciate how literature and film work together to produce cultural artefacts.

  Skills

  This module should enable you to build upon and substantially enhance the skills that you have already acquired during the course of your degree, and in particular should allow you to acquire and demonstrate the following: broad comprehension of modern scholarly debates concerning adaptations; understanding of how Victorian social and cultural contexts are translated or interpreted for the modern age; understanding of the fundamentals of film and television art; the ability to analyse critically the interrelation between works of fiction and their made for tv counterparts, in the process identifying their complexities and contradictions; effective oral and written communication skills.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3069

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Irish Revolution, 1917-1921 (20 credits)

  ×

  The Irish Revolution, 1917-1921

  Overview

  The module will explore revolutionary politics in Ireland between 1916 and 1921. Key themes will include the rise of Sinn Fein following the Easter Rising, the establishment of Dail Eireann, the Irish Volunteers' military campaign and the British government's response to these political and military challenges. The course will make use of a wide range of local and thematic studies to investigate controversial questions relating to the Irish revolution: what factors motivated republicans, how important was sectarianism in revolutionary violence, why did some areas of the country see little fighting and how important a factor was the north?

  Learning Outcomes

  An ability to identify the key issues and themes of this period. An understanding of the importance of the economic, social and cultural forces which contributed to the political events of this period. An ability to assess and evaluate a range of approaches to the key controversies relating to the Irish revolution. An understanding of the historiography of the Irish Revolution.

  Skills

  The ability to demonstrate an argument based on study of documents and secondary readings in a written essay and examination paper. Oral participation in tutorials through debate and presentations. Assessing and evaluating conflicting arguments in the secondary literature.

  Coursework

  30%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  70%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3073

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Popular Culture in England 1500-1700 (20 credits)

  ×

  Popular Culture in England 1500-1700

  Overview

  Exploration of the cultural world of ordinary people in early modern Europe; the forms of popular culture; the relationship between elite and popular culture; the methodology historians have developed in order to study popular culture.

  Learning Outcomes

  To generate interest in early modern popular culture in Europe; to encourage critical thought.

  Skills

  Absorbing and evaluating various forms of evidence; constructing arguments in written form.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3018

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Soviet Union 1921-1991 (20 credits)

  ×

  The Soviet Union 1921-1991

  Overview

  The political, social, economic and international conditions leading to Bolshevik success after 1917; the nature of the Soviet state as evolving under Lenin ; the evolution of Stalin's personal rule and the Stalinist system; the nature and limits of de-stalinization under Kruschchev.

  Learning Outcomes

  To understand the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, the adaption of Marxism to Russian conditions and the adjustment of the peoples of Russia to such circumstances.

  Skills

  To discover, assess and select evidence mainly from secondary sources, to interpret and evaluate this material, to envisage the ways of thinking in a very different environment.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3039

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The Origins of Protestantism (20 credits)

  ×

  The Origins of Protestantism

  Overview

  The module will examine the rise of Protestantism in the early modern period (1517-1740), from the onset of the Reformation in Germany and Switzerland to the spread of the movement throughout Europe and America to the eve of the mainstream Enlightenment.

  Learning Outcomes

  To introduce students to history of confessional development in Europe; to encourage critical thought.

  Skills

  Analysis of textual evidence (primary and secondary) and the ability to formulate arguments in written and oral form.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3022

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Shakespeare on Screen (20 credits)

  ×

  Shakespeare on Screen

  Overview

  The late twentieth century has seen a proliferation of Shakespeare on screen. This module investigates the phenomenon through the cinematic history of four plays - Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Othello. It looks at the work of directors such as Laurence Olivier, Franco Zeffirelli, Orson Welles, Kenneth Branagh, Baz Luhrmann, Oliver Parker and Michael Almereyda. Debate will focus upon the following areas; the relationship between the playtext and the film; the malleability of Shakespeare as a cultural icon; the relevance of Shakespeare to a modern audience; the shifting status of Shakespeare as a signifier of gender, race, technology and politics.

  Learning Outcomes

  This module aims to inculcate an in-depth knowledge of the multifarious ways in which Shakespeare is appropriated in late twentieth-century cinema; to enable students to discriminate between various filmic versions of a play; to gain the confidence and capability to deploy critical and theoretical tools to talk about film constructively; and to reflect upon connections between Shakespearean production and the preoccupations of a particular historical moment.

  Skills

  Having successfully completed this module, you should have become familiar with a range of ways in which Shakespeare is appropriated in the cinema; you should have learned how to utilise a theoretical filmic vocabulary in the interests of larger analyses; you should be able to discriminate between various filmic versions of a play and to identify some of their cultural and intertextual influences; you should have further honed your presentational skills and, through regular teamwork, learned the value of collaborative practice.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3087

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Speech Worlds: Phonology in Acquisition and Disorder (20 credits)

  ×

  Speech Worlds: Phonology in Acquisition and Disorder

  Overview

  The module focuses on four main areas of phonetics. First, you will refine your existing skills in phonetic description and transcription by expanding your knowledge of articulatory categories and distinctions. We then examine methods of profiling speakers' phonetic and phonological systems, using a range of appropriate models. The third component of the module concentrates on intonational aspects of speech. Here, we will examine recent theoretical developments alongside traditional accounts, and we will assess the role of intonation in various communicative situations. Finally, you will gain knowledge of and practical ability in the acoustic analysis of speech. Building on the basic acoustic skills you acquired in Patterns of Spoken English, you will now move on to understand the role of instrumental analysis in the quantification of speech production characteristics. In each of these four areas, we will analyse speech from a wide range of contexts, including disordered speech and children's speech. Throughout the module, you will be encouraged to develop your aural phonetic skills by means of an audio-tape, specifically designed to accompany the course, along with CD-ROM packages.

  Learning Outcomes

  This module should equip you with a firm understanding of the role of advanced phonetic study in assessing and profiling speech. You should be in a position to undertake a detailed analysis of a speaker's output and to account for breakdowns in speech production using appropriate and informed explanations. Your experience of this module should encourage you to appreciate the value of detailed phonetic knowledge in, for example, English teaching where a detailed understanding of oracy skills can be central to educational development, in foreign language teaching and learning, and in clinical speech contexts.

  Skills

  The central aim of this module is to develop your theoretical and practical skills in phonetics. We will achieve this aim by examining the processes involved in the production of speech and describing/ transcribing them in detail; by understanding and evaluating models for phonetic analysis; by applying phonetic and phonological analysis as a means of understanding the structure of normal and disordered speech, and by using techniques of acoustic analysis in investigating phonetic data.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENL3003

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  The American Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860-1877 (20 credits)

  ×

  The American Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860-1877

  Overview

  Against the backdrop of increasing tensions over slavery, Abraham Lincoln posed the question in 1855 of whether the United States could “as a nation, continue together permanently—forever—half slave and half free.” The answer came in 1861, when war broke out between the federal government at Washington and the newly seceded Confederacy. The American Civil War and the period of Reconstruction that followed are sometimes referred to by historians as a “Second American Revolution”: together they constitute one of the most dramatic social upheavals of the nineteenth century world, and their outcome established the foundations upon which—for better or worse—the modern United States would be built.
  Making use of a range of primary sources and some of the best recent scholarship in the vibrant field of Civil War & Reconstruction historiography, we will approach the events through close examination of key historical problems: sectionalism and the causes of war; Lincoln, war and emancipation; slavery and grand strategy, North and South; and Reconstruction & the limits of black freedom.

  Learning Outcomes

  To explore and understand this critical period in the history of the United States.

  Skills

  The ability to analyse and explain both orally and on paper, the complex issues relating to this topic.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3035

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Dissertation (40 credits)

  ×

  Dissertation

  Overview

  Students will research and write a dissertation of 10,000-12,000 words on an appropriate subject negotiated with a member of staff.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students will have gained a detailed knowledge of the secondary literature and primary sources relating to a specific historical problem, and will have acquired first hand experience of the processes involved in producing a piece of historical writing based on primary sources.

  Skills

  Students will acquire skills in identifying, locating, and gathering information from a variety of sources, in analysing evidence and formulating reasoned conclusions, and in presenting the results of research and analysis in an appropriate format.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  40

  Module Code

  HIS3077

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  24 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Double Dissertation English Literature (40 credits)

  ×

  Double Dissertation English Literature

  Overview

  Students will undertake a piece of independent research and write a dissertation presenting that research and their conclusions. They will have the guidance of a tutor, but the emphasis is on their own independent research and writing. There should be no overlap between the chosen topic and work done for other modules. Students will be expected to develop and exhibit suitable theoretical and methodological frameworks for their chosen topic.

  Learning Outcomes

  The module will provide an opportunity to explore, to investigate and to identify themes for research within English. Students will be able to draw from a variety of theoretical, textual, analytical techniques, to examine and evaluate a given research problem.

  Skills

  By the end of the module students will:\n\nhave a developed critical understanding of an area of literary study;\n\nhave developed the skills needed to conduct an independent line of research;\n\nbe able to write a cogent, well-illustrated dissertation, which displays originality of consistent thinking and application of ideas, concepts and theories.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  40

  Module Code

  ENG3000

  Teaching Period

  Full Year

  Duration

  24 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Marvels, Monsters and Miracles in Anglo-Saxon England (20 credits)

  ×

  Marvels, Monsters and Miracles in Anglo-Saxon England

  Overview

  The very nature of marvels insists on their subjectivity: they are defined by the experience of their viewer. To marvel from the Latin mirari or to wonder from the Germanic wundar is to be filled with awe, surprise, admiration or astonishment. When we try to generalise about the meaning of marvels and the use of wonder in the Middle Ages, we are confronted with multiplicity. How do we read marvels? What’s their role in medieval texts? Are monsters and miracles to be read as marvels? One of the most critical tools for discussing the nature of difference that is central to the marvellous is the idea of the ‘Other’ which offers both psychological and political means of analysing the experience of wonder. The Anglo-Saxons were fascinated by the idea of encounters with strangeness and difference – a fascination that expressed itself in a rich and diverse rang of textual, artistic and geographical representations of such imaginings. Difference was considered both marvellous and monstrous; terrifying and fascinating; disgusting and desirable.
  This module examines the perceptions of the marvellous and monstrous in the literature of the Anglo-Saxons. It investigates the nature of those phenomena which the Anglo-Saxons experienced as marvels, how they interpreted their experiences of astonishment and how they recreated them for others. It analyses the importance of ‘marvellous difference’ in defining ethnic, racial, religious, class and gender identities, as represented in different genres including historiography (i.e. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle), travel narratives (Wonders of the East, Alexander’s Letter to Aristotle etc), hagiography (i.e. The Life of St Christopher) and other literary texts including Beowulf, Judith, Genesis B.
  Texts in Latin, Old Norse and Middle English may be used for comparative purposes. Modern English translations will be provided for all the texts. Students are also expected to be able to engage with texts in Old English.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of the module students should be able to:
  -Demonstrate a critical awareness of a variety of early medieval concepts and constructions of otherness and difference;
  -Show a familiarity with a range of medieval texts, genres and cultural concepts;
  -Demonstrate the ability to engage with both contemporary critical concepts and their applicability to pre-modern texts;
  -Show evidence of independent research and study skills;
  -Use relevant electronic databases to further their written work;
  -Demonstrate a consistent level of contribution to seminar discussions.

  Skills

  This module will enable students to:
  -Develop an informed sense of the complexity of concepts such as monstrosity, marvellous, superstition, miracle, religion, otherness;
  -Consider and evaluate how difference (racial, religious, gender, national) was conceptualised in early medieval English culture;
  -Acquire an understanding of various literary texts in relation to their cultural context and audience;
  -Develop an ability to engage critically with the primary material as well as familiarity with modern scholarly and critical approaches;
  Apply independent thought and academic research skills.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3011

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Special Topic in Creative Writing (20 credits)

  ×

  Special Topic in Creative Writing

  Overview

  This is a Special Topic module offered by a visiting Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in Creative Writing. The contents of the module, which will change on an annual basis, depending on the area of creative writing expertise of the Visiting Scholar, will provide an opportunity for students to work on a specific aspect of creative writing. The specific module content will be announced as early as possible each academic year. Students who sign up for this module will, as normal, have the right to switch to another module if the content does not suit their academic plans.

  Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of this module students will have examined an aspect of creative writing and will have written extensively in the appropriate form or genre. Objectivity about their own creative practice will have been further fostered by the writing of a self-reflexive commentary to accompany their final submission. Students should have come some way towards developing their own creative voice.

  Skills

  To be decided.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENH3019

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Special Topic in Irish Writing: Modern Irish Literature and the Primitive Sublime (20 credits)

  ×

  Special Topic in Irish Writing: Modern Irish Literature and the Primitive Sublime

  Overview

  This is a Special Topic module offered by a visiting Fulbright Scholar. This course focuses on contemporary Irish women writers and their depiction of home in light of the poetic duality of scáth, an Irish word that may be translated as either shadow or shelter. This duality of scáth helps capture the complicated nature of home, especially for Irish women, who have historically been caught somewhere between viewing “home” as a sheltered respite or as an imprisoning shadow. After rooting the Irish female literary tradition in Irish myths, we will study both how today’s authors not only describe this paradoxical relationship but also offer models of women who simultaneously resist the shadows and create their own shelters of beauty and hope without denying or ignoring ugly realities. Sample texts include Emma Donaghue’s Room, Anna Burns’s Milkman, and Maggie O’Farrell’s This Must Be the Place.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students will develop their skills in: close reading of literary texts; analysis of literary texts within cultural, historical, and biographical contexts; oral communication; formulation of critical arguments; research methods; scholarly writing, including the integration of primary and secondary sources and adherence to academic conventions

  Skills

  To be decided.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENH3020

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Religion and Empire: Christian Missions ro Africa, Asia and Middle East (20 credits)

  ×

  Religion and Empire: Christian Missions ro Africa, Asia and Middle East

  Overview

  Christian missions are often seen as old fashioned, but for long they were at the forefront of modernity. They carried modernity overseas and brought back fresh ideas which helped shape new societies. This course investigates when and how Christian overseas expansion happened; how missionaries related to empire and indigenous peoples; why and how Africans or Asians chose to convert; what they did with the Christianitywith which they were confronted; and how missionary activities contributed to the elaboration of new ideas of race, class and scientific knowledge at home.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students who successfully complete the module should
  • Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the history of Christian expansion in the 19th and 20th centuries;
  • Be able to develop critical arguments about religion and modernity in the West and in the rest of the world;
  • Be able to engage successfully with archival material;
  • Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the requirements of essay writing, bibliographic work, and oral presentation.

  Skills

  Critical writing; archival research; oral presentation.
  Archival research will be kept to a minimum, in an archive in Belfast or online. The oral presentation will be a presentation of archival material to be used for the second (major) essay.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3099

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Kings, courts and culture in Carolingian Europe (20 credits)

  ×

  Kings, courts and culture in Carolingian Europe

  Overview

  This module focuses on the pivotal role played by the Carolingians in the intellectual and cultural formation of Europe. To this period, historians traditionally ascribe the following developments: the growth in the production of manuscripts, proliferation of scriptoria and preservation of classical writings. Key topics will be the royal patronage of artistic and literary activity; the vigorous use of Roman and Christian ideology, ritual and imagery; the growing interest in logic in the Carolingian schools; and the appearance of important scholars, philosophers and poets, most famously John Scottus Eriugena.

  Learning Outcomes

  On completion of this module, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following areas: Carolingian intellectual history, critical evaluation of historical issues and problems in this field, the historiographical debates relating to the Carolingian period, both primary and secondary literature in the field, how to gather and synthesise material relating to ninth-century Carolingian history

  Skills

  This module should help students develop their skills in the following areas: 1) Critical thinking and logical reasoning 2) Evaluation of evidence 3) Analysis of arguments 4)Construction of an argument 5)Oral communication 6)Written communication 7)Use of primary sources

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3079

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Double Dissertation English Language (40 credits)

  ×

  Double Dissertation English Language

  Overview

  Students will undertake a piece of independent research and write a dissertation presenting that research and their conclusions. They will have the guidance of a tutor, but the emphasis is on their own independent research and writing. There should be no overlap between the chosen topic and work done for other modules. Students will be expected to develop and exhibit suitable theoretical and methodological frameworks for their chosen topic.

  Learning Outcomes

  The module will provide an opportunity to explore, to investigate and to identify themes for research within English. Students will be able to draw from a variety of theoretical, textual, analytical techniques, to examine and evaluate a given research problem.

  Skills

  By the end of the module students will:\n\nhave a developed critical understanding of an area of language study;\n\nhave developed the skills needed to conduct an independent line of research;\n\nbe able to write a cogent, well-illustrated dissertation, which displays originality of consistent thinking and application of ideas, concepts and theories.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  40

  Module Code

  ENL3000

  Teaching Period

  Full Year

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Evangelical Protestantism in Ulster: From the United Irishmen to Ian Paisley (20 credits)

  ×

  Evangelical Protestantism in Ulster: From the United Irishmen to Ian Paisley

  Overview

  This course considers the religion and politics of protestants in Ulster from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. It examines the interplay of religious, social, and political developments by considering a number of themes. These include, the formation of the United Irishmen and the 1798 rebellion, the rise and significance of evangelicalism, the response of churches to urban growth and industrialisation, religious revivalism and missionary activity, the development of unionist politics, and church-state relations in Northern Ireland. Students will be encouraged to place Irish developments in a broader context. They will encounter a range of primary source material including pamphlets, newspapers, sermons, and official reports.

  Learning Outcomes

  An understanding of the relationships between the religion and politics of protestants in the north of Ireland.
  
  An ability to engage with the most important historiographical debates relating to the subject-matter of the module.
  
  An ability to evaluate critically, and place in their particular historical context, primary documentary sources relating to the subject-matter of the module.
  
  An ability to write an informed analysis of the historical problems discussed in the module.

  Skills

  Enhanced ability to think critically, reason logically, and work independently.
  
  Further develop communication skills, both written and oral.
  
  Critical appraisal of, engagement with, and effective use of a variety of historical sources.

  Coursework

  100%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  0%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  HIS3046

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Contemporary US Crime Fiction: the Police, the State, the Globe (20 credits)

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  Contemporary US Crime Fiction: the Police, the State, the Globe

  Overview

  This module examines some of the different manifestations of contemporary U.S. crime fiction since the late 1960s. Beginning with a section on ‘policing the city’ and the ways in which the genre negotiates the complex inter-relationship of race, class and capitalism, the module moves on to consider state violence and public corruption before concluding with an examination of the limitations of state power and the international reach of some crime fiction. Rather than arguing for the genre as a singular, static entity, the module examines its proliferation and diversity in the contemporary era (focusing on novels, TV series and films) and explores connections between crime fiction and other genres (e.g. urban realism and espionage fiction). In doing so, the module aims to situate different kinds of crime fiction as a series of complex negotiations with different forms of political authority (e.g. the police, the state, capitalism etc.).

  Learning Outcomes

  Having completed this module, students will have acquired the ability to analyse a broad range of exemplary U.S. crime fiction (novels, films, TV programs) in light of their understanding of particular theoretical approaches and different theoretical approaches in the light of their understanding of particular set texts. They will have developed an ability to identify particular generic traits, speak about the genre’s development since the late 1960s in a theoretical informed way and situate this development in relation to particular social, cultural, political and economic circumstances in the U.S and the global realm. They will have developed their skills in constructing written and spoken arguments drawing on appropriate primary and secondary evidence.

  Skills

  This module will allow students to build upon the skills that they have acquired in first and second year and in particular will allow and permit the following:
  - broad understanding of the development and proliferation of U.S. crime fiction since the 1960s;
  - understanding of the relationship of crime fiction texts to different forms of political authority;
  - an ability to analyse a variety of set texts in the light of particular theoretical approaches and analyse a variety if theoretical approaches in the light of particular set texts;
  - an ability to analyse literary and filmic/televisual texts and articulate sophisticated ideas and arguments in a clear, accessible manner in written and spoken assignments;
  - an ability to work closely in collaboration with other students.

  Coursework

  90%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  10%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENH3008

  Teaching Period

  Autumn

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional

  Women's Writing 1680-1830 (20 credits)

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  Women's Writing 1680-1830

  Overview

  This module considers how women writers have been constrained by but have also exploited literary traditions and traces the indexes of conformity and subversion in their writing by placing them in contexts of prevailing discourses on femininity. In order to situate women's writing of this period, we will also examine constructions of femininity in visual art and conduct writings. Key texts will include fiction by Eliza Haywood, Mary Wollstonecroft Jane Austen, poetry by Aphra Behn, Anne Finch, Anna Laetitia Barbauld and labouring women poets such as Mary Leapor and Ann Yearsley, the 'Turkish Embassy' letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and scandal memoirs by Margaret Leeson.

  Learning Outcomes

  Students should be able to address the ways in which literary productions by women have been marginalised by traditional syllabi and to redress the balance, so that the importance of women's writing in literary history can be examined and understood; to examine both the ways in which women writers have adopted literary traditions and the cultural meanings of femininity in the eighteenth century; to situate women's writing in a range of contexts - the material contexts of patronage and publishing, political and discursive contexts concerning class, gender and nationality.

  Skills

  In taking this module, students should acquire a knowledge of major concerns in eighteenth-century women's writing and will be expected to communicate their understanding of the relationships between literary form and production and the social and political issues of proper femininity, class and nationality. Seminars and assessments should require students to address specific issues and to articulate conclusions from their reading clearly and confidently, demonstrating an awareness of the critical debates surrounding women's writing of this period and independent engagement with these debates.

  Coursework

  80%

  Examination

  0%

  Practical

  20%

  Stage/Level

  3

  Credits

  20

  Module Code

  ENG3020

  Teaching Period

  Spring

  Duration

  12 weeks

  Pre-requisite

  No

  Core/Optional

  Optional