Module manager: Sam Durrant
Email: s.r.durrant@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
ENGL5940M: Planetary Aesthetics: Animism, Mimesis and Indigeneity.
This module is not approved as an Elective
Animism—the belief that all life forms have souls or spirits—encourages us to see the planet from the perspective of others (both human and nonhuman) and to act accordingly. Literature and film derived from animist cultures has the capacity to generate a multiperspectival awareness of different lifeworlds and develop what Paul Gilroy has described as “planetary consciousness”: cross-cultural and even cross-species forms of solidarity based on the recognition of our planet as a finite, fragile ecosystem. We look at novels (and a film or two) derived from Indigenous animist cultures across the world, usually including Africa, South and Southeast Asia, North and South America, and Australia. We also look at critical work interested in animism and ecology as alternatives to the ecocidal drive of capitalism. If you enjoy literature that tests the boundaries of realism (often called magical realism) and redefines how we conceive of the world, then this module is for you. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module seeks to introduce students to Indigenous understandings of the world and their relation to the ecological or “planetary” turn in the humanities. Anthropologists, environmental philosophers and political activists have begun to recognise the vital importance of conceiving of the world from “more than human” perspectives, and many have turned to the example of Indigenous cultures whose animistic belief in the spirit or souls (“anima”) of nonhumans was once derided as primitive superstition. We will critically explore this turn to animism through a carefully curated set of novels, films and essays, which students are invited to respond to in online discussion board posts and weekly seminars.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
LO1. Apply sophisticated knowledge and understanding to a range of Indigenous literary and filmic texts and their contexts.
LO2. Evaluate and analyse these texts using a range of interdisciplinary debates around animism, ecology and Indigeneity.
LO3. Synthesise the connections between different political, environmental and spiritual struggles across the globe.
SO4. Reflect on the value of an aesthetic education
SO5. Articulate their understanding in dialogue with their peers and in carefully argued academic essays.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Private study hours | 280 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 300 | ||
Formative feedback will be available in the bi-weekly seminars. Students will produce responses to weekly online discussion board questions and these will form the basis for initial seminar discussion. Progress will also be monitored by mid-term questionnaires. They will also submit proposals for their final essays and present their work in the final seminar, which is designed as an essay workshop.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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