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ED2EN6-Heritage and Multicultural Literature

Module Provider: Institute of Education
Number of credits: 10 [5ECTS credits]
Level: 5
Terms in which taught: Summer
Module Convenor: Mrs SE Broad
Pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Module version for: 2009/0

Email: ess06seb@reading.ac.uk

Aims:

  • Gain knowledge and understanding of the lives of immigrants through writers' portrayals
  • To understand how political, historical, social and economic issues affect the lives of immigrants
  • Develop analytic skills regarding written and visual media
  • Gain knowledge and understanding of the lives of immigrants through writers' portrayals
  • To understand how political, historical, social and economic issues affect the lives of immigrants
  • Develop analytic skills regarding written and visual media

  • insight into the dilemmas, tensions and feelings of displacement that arise
    through loss of homeland and cultural identity.

  • experience in analysing and interpreting written and visual and verbal texts.

    Assessable learning outcomes:
    By the end of this unit you will be expected to have gained:

  • an awareness of how the political, historical and socio/economic climate in
    post-war Britain affected the lives of immigrants in the 1950s and 60s.

  • an awareness of how writers have portrayed the lives of people from
    differing cultures in post-colonial Britain.

  • insight into the dilemmas, tensions and feelings of displacement that arise
    through loss of homeland and cultural identity.

  • experience in analysing and interpreting written and visual and verbal texts.

    Additional outcomes:

    Outline content:
    The course begins by considering a selection of poems by writers from the Caribbean who have settled in Britain. A study of Buchi Emecheta's autobiographical novel, Second Class Citizen, and Sam Selvon's, The Lonely Londoners, offer complementary perspectives of post-war London as seen through the eyes of the immigrant. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and Leena Dhingra's Amritvala, set in the West Indies and India respectively, explore themes of alienation and in Hanif Kureishi's screenplay for the film My Beautiful Laundrette, complex issues relating to race, class and gender are presented. Timothy Mo's portrait of a Chinese family in 1960s London (Sour Sweet) completes the reading for this unit and throughout the course you will be expected to contribute to weekly seminar discussion topics.

    Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
    The course will be taught through three hour sessions, with a half an hour break midway through. The time will be divided into lecturing, group and class discussion and student presentations of papers.

    Contact hours:

      Autumn Spring Summer
    Lectures
    Tutorials/seminars     30 
    Practicals      
    Other contact (eg study visits)      
    Total hours     30 
    Number of essays or assignments     1 
    Other (eg major seminar paper)     1 

    Assessment:
    Coursework

    An essay of 2500-3000 words.

    Relative percentage of coursework : 100%

    Examinations: None

    Requirements for a pass: 40%

    Reassessment arrangements:
    An alternative coursework assignment will be set, which will receive a maximum of 40%.

    Last updated: 7 December 2009

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