Module manager: Professor Catherine Karkov
Email: c.e.karkov@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2020/21
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module explores England's postcolonial past from the Roman Empire through to the Norman Conquest as it has left its mark on the art, archaeology and texts of the period. It will critique the impact multiple waves of incoming peoples had on the culture and landscape of the island, with a special focus on the North of England as so much of its history survives in the area. It will also examine how England’s postcolonial past came to form the basis for its early modern and modern empires.
The medieval itself has been seen as colonial other to the modern, and through examining the postcolonial past through contemporary postcolonial critique the course will help to break down some of the false divisions that separate past from present, the medieval from the modern and postmodern. Readings for most weeks will put primary texts (in translation), secondary scholarship on the period, and theoretical critique into dialogue with each other. Class discussion will consider both the past that emerges from that dialogue, and how it is manifested and memorialised in the art of the period. A field trip to Hexham during reading week (subject to school finances) will help to elucidate the ways in which the past remains present around us.
- Critical analysis of primary and secondary sources
- Understanding of key concepts in contemporary critical theory and critical humanities
- Verbal fluency in constructing a logical and coherent argument
- Research skills
- Participation in class discussions
- Analysis of images, texts and objects
Week 1: Introduction: Hadrian’s Wall
Week 2: Angles, Saxons and the Image of Trauma
Week 3: The Anglo-Saxon Wall
Week 4: The talking book
Week 5: The Vikings
Week 6: Reading Week: field trip to Hexham
Week 7: Anglo-Scandinavian England
Week 8: The Empire of Cnut
Week 9: The Norman Conquest
Week 10: England and Empire
Week 11:Presentations
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Optional trip included in private study hours (12 hours)
The two essays will require extensive research, and the final presentation will require preparation. Weekly readings can be heavy, and many are difficult. The readings and preparation for in-class discussions of them will require significant independent study on a regular basis.
Student progress will be monitored through weekly participation in seminars, through the mid-term essay, and through the final presentation.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | 2,500-3,000 | 40 |
| Essay | 2,500-3,000 | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 8/10/2020
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team