Module ENGL2771: Contemporary US Fiction and The Question of Genre

Department: English Studies

ENGL2771: Contemporary US Fiction and The Question of Genre

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• The module aims to:
• explore the relationship between ‘literary’ and ‘genre’ writing in the context of 21st century US fiction.
• critically engage with how and why the distinction between literary and genre writing functions in contemporary culture.
• examine how the use of genre tropes might contribute to our understanding of ‘the contemporary’.
• evaluate what is at stake when writers who are classified and / or self-identify as ‘literary’ choose to draw on genre conventions (Horror, Noir, Chick Lit, Sci-Fi, Fantasy and so on).
• engage with complex questions of cultural value, generational change, influence, categorisation, taste and nostalgia.
• analyse how genre tropes relate to issues of class, gender, sexuality, race and region, alongside aspects of contemporary US history such as the impact of 9/11, technological change and the rise of ‘geek culture’.
• reflect on the institutional factors (MFA programs and the academic study of popular genres) that have contributed to developments in recent US fiction.

Content

• In a review for The New York Times, Francine Stone speculates that Susan Choi’s A Person of Interest may one day be identified as “prototypical 21st-century novel“ and combining the “unhurried pleasures of certain classics“ with the “jittery tensions“ of (it is implied) popular genre fiction. With that claim in mind, this module provides an advanced introduction to the interplay between ‘literary’ and ‘genre’ writing in US fiction published after the millennium. It places a particular emphasis on the various ways in which prominent and/or cult literary authors have “recuperated“ popular genres and examines how approaches and attitudes to genre play a role in shaping the “cultural moment“ (Theodore Martin’s terms). The module therefore examines what we can learn about the nature of ‘the contemporary’ by engaging with the literary/genre divide. The works studied range from affectionate tribute to critique, satire and self-conscious experimentation. Texts will typically be chosen from authors such as Thomas Pynchon, Susan Choi, Michael Chabon, Karen Russell, Kelly Link, Percival Everett, Louise Erdrich, Alexandra Kleeman, Colson Whitehead, Ottessa Moshfegh, Heidi Julavits and Bret Easton Ellis.

Learning Outcomes

• detailed knowledge of the relationship between ‘literary’ and ‘genre’ writing in a 21st century US context.
• insight into debates about the nature of ‘the contemporary’.
• appreciation of the historical, social and political factors that shape the production and reception of recent US fiction.
• awareness of relevant critical and analytical frameworks for approaching the literary/genre divide.

• critical skills in the close reading and analysis of texts
• an ability to demonstrate knowledge of a range of texts and critical approaches
• informed awareness of formal and aesthetic dimensions of literature and ability to offer cogent analysis of their workings in specific texts
• sensitivity to generic conventions and to the shaping effects on communication of historical circumstances, and to the affective power of language
• an ability to articulate and substantiate an imaginative response to literature
• an ability to articulate knowledge and understanding of concepts and theories relating to literary studies
• skills of effective communication and argument
• awareness of conventions of scholarly presentation, and bibliographic skills including accurate citation of sources and consistent use of scholarly conventions of presentation
• command of a broad range of vocabulary and an appropriate critical terminology
• awareness of literature as a medium through which values are affirmed and debated

• Students studying this module will develop:
• a capacity to analyse critically
• an ability to acquire complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way involving the use of distinctive interpretative skills derived from the subject
• competence in the planning and execution of essays
• a capacity for independent thought and judgment, and ability to assess the critical ideas of others
• skills in critical reasoning o an ability to handle information and argument in a critical manner
• information-technology skills such as word-processing and electronic data access information
• organisation and time-management skills

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module is taught through seminars, which encourage collective responsiveness through interactive discussion as well as the development of independent, individual thought. The consultation session with the seminar leader before the first essay allows for further, guided exploration of individual ideas and arguments.
• Typically, directed learning may include assigning student(s) an issue, theme or topic that can be independently or collectively explored within a framework and/or with additional materials provided by the tutor. This may function as preparatory work for presenting their ideas or findings (sometimes electronically) to their peers and tutor in the context of a seminar.
• Assessed essays give students the opportunity for focussed independent study, permitting them to explore their own ideas and insights as well as demonstrating a requisite knowledge of the subject.
• The written feedback that is provided after the first assessed essay allows students to reflect on examiners' comments, giving students the opportunity to improve their work for the second essay.
• Before the first essay, students will have an individual consultation session (15 minutes) in which they are entitled to show their seminar leader a list of points relevant to the essay and receive oral comment on these points. Students may also, if they wish, discuss their ideas for the second essay at this meeting. This session will not be centrally timetabled, and will be arranged via the seminar leader and student.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University