Modern and Contemporary Literature

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Key facts

UNE unit code: ENGL581

*You are viewing the 2027 version of this unit which may be subject to change in future.

Start

Trimester 2 - On Campus
Trimester 2 - Online

Campus

Armidale Campus

24/7 online support

Intensive schools

Supervised exam

Credit points

UNE student studies on a laptop on her lounge at home

In this unit, you read iconic works of the 20th century alongside award-winning texts from the 21st century. You examine how literature across these periods links to politics and history, while exploring the formal innovations of the period in short stories, poems, novels and films.

The period covered by the unit incorporates major historical changes, including industrialisation, urbanisation, both world wars, the long legacy of European colonisation and the rise of the United States as a dominant global power after World War II. You also learn about major counter cultural movements as well: feminist, gay and lesbian, civil rights movements and anti-racist and anti-colonial struggles. As you move through this period, you consider how these forces reshape the economy, everyday life and the human condition and how this change manifests in literature.

Offerings

Teaching period	Mode/location
Trimester 2	On Campus, Armidale Campus
Trimester 2	Online

*Offering is subject to availability

Intensive schools

There are no intensive schools required for this unit.

Enrolment rules

Pre-requisites

candidature in a postgraduate award

Restrictions

ENGL381

Combined units

ENGL381 Modern and Contemporary Literature

Notes

Please refer to the student handbook for current details on this unit.

Unit coordinator(s)

Jennifer Hamilton

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:

identify and critically evaluate several key debates within the fields of modernist, postmodernist and contemporary literature;
apply advanced knowledge of formal and thematic developments in literature in English from the early 20th century to the present;
coherently communicate an independent critical analysis and evaluation of a range of literary texts from 1900 to the present;
research and apply specialised knowledge of relevant texts and theories to the interpretation of modernist, postmodernist and contemporary literature in English; and
examine key political, philosophical and historical questions pertaining to the evaluation of literature from the early 20th century to the present.

Assessment information

Assessments are subject to change up to 8 weeks prior to the start of the teaching period in which you are undertaking the unit.

Title	Must Complete	Weight	Offerings	Assessment Notes
Project with Iterative Supervision - Assurance Task	Yes	55%	All offerings	Research Project with Iterative Supervision. Independent research essay or equivalent developed from the Proposal task 2, accompanied oral interview (fifteen minutes (approx.)). Students must obtain at least 50% in the Assurance Task (and at least 50% overall) to receive a pass or better in the unit. No. Words: 4000 (equivalent)
Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography	Yes	20%	All offerings	No. Words: 1000
Short Essay	Yes	25%	All offerings	No. Words: 1500

Learning resources

Textbooks are subject to change up to 8 weeks prior to the start of the teaching period in which you are undertaking the unit.

Note: Students are expected to purchase prescribed material. Please note that textbook requirements may vary from one teaching period to the next.