School of English
Module manager: Professor Bridget Bennett
Email: b.k.g.bennett@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
The module introduces students to some of the key concepts that have animated both US literary culture and its critical reception. It takes writing to be a dynamic act and asks how the writing of the United States participated in imagining and shaping the nation’s development. Organised around the core contexts/concepts of citizenship, domesticity and slavery, the module interrogates some of the most significant literary texts of the nineteenth-century United States.
I aim to introduce students to US literature in its cultural context and prepare students who may wish to undertake further studies in US literature and culture.
I will teach students how to develop their critical and analytical skills with respect to written texts and enhance their skills in oral presentation and essay writing.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Identify the historical development of C19th US literature.
2. Show how literary texts engaged with, and were shaped by, cultural and other contexts.
3. Evaluate relevant criticism and scholarship about C19th US literary texts and their contexts.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Conduct independent research, gathering information from a range of sources, and engaging in good academic practice in referencing their sources
5. Produce independent arguments demonstrating advanced proficiency in critical thinking and writing skills.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Support | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Lecture | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Students will be able to seek advice and feedback in my weekly consultation hours. In addition, I will set up feedback sessions following the submission and assessment of the essay plan. The plan will be submitted in Week Seven with feedback sessions in Weeks Nine and Ten. Finally, all students will be offered the opportunity to meet with me and discuss their essay after it has been marked.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay plan | 10 |
| Coursework | Essay | 90 |
| 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: 30/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team