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 2026/27
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. 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.
Students will be introduced to US literature in its cultural context and prepared for further studies in US literature and culture. Students will 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:
LO1. Identify the historical development of 19th Century US literature.
LO2. Illustrate how literary texts engaged with, and were shaped by, cultural and other contexts.
LO3. Evaluate relevant criticism and scholarship about 19th Century US literary texts and their contexts.
SLO4. Conduct independent research, gathering information from a range of sources, and engaging in good academic practice in referencing their sources
SLO5. Produce independent arguments demonstrating advanced proficiency in critical thinking and writing skills.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Lecture | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Feedback on the assessed plan will be provided in feedback sessions. All students will be offered the opportunity to meet with the tutor to discuss their essay after it has been marked.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Assessed Plan | 10 |
| Coursework | Essay | 90 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
A resit will take the form of an assessed plan and an assessed essay.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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