Introductory description

This module will take students into the depths of one core text. Each week you will close-read that text in conjunction with a range of elements such as its paratexts; comparative editions; manuscripts; biographical materials; marketing materials; other extraneous material cultures; and/or adaptations. Critical and cultural theoretical works will also be consulted. The text will change each year, dependent on the research specialisms of the convenor, as will the mode in which you engage with that text across the term. The module would be particularly useful to students doing or considering a dissertation or further study, but will also be of interest generally for its focused exploration.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The text to be studied will be determined by the convenor for the academic year which will change frequently and be advertised at the module fair. The module will have weekly deep-dives into various aspect of the topic.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Develop a strong understanding of how a single text and its material and critical history can be shaped and reshaped over time
• Demonstrate knowledge of theoretical debates about authorship and their relationship with a text.
• Demonstrate strong proficiencies in textual interpretation and analysis
• Demonstrate an understanding of the intersections between literature, writing and culture through sustained and close attention to particular texts, topics and critical and theoretical issues
• Demonstrate and apply advanced independent research skills.

Indicative reading list

Sample:

Kukkonen, Karin. "Reading, fast and slow." Poetics Today 42.2 (2021): 173-191.

Huey, Edmund B. "On the psychology and physiology of reading. I." The American Journal of Psychology 11.3 (1900): 283-302.

MacKendrick, Karmen. "Slow Reading: Learning in the Time of the Body." Journal for Cultural & Religious Theory 12.2 (2012): 106-121.

Moretti, Franco. Graphs, maps, trees: abstract models for a literary history. Verso, 2005.

Moretti, Franco. Distant reading. Verso Books, 2013.

Research element

This will be dependent on the convenor and the assessment, but the students will need to look beyond the reading list into the history and publication of the text.

Subject specific skills

linguistic analysis; narratology; contextualisation; theoretical application to understanding of content and product

Transferable skills

Close-reading and interpretation; attention to detail; knowledge of print and publication cultures that drive the production and success of a work