Examination of how critics conduct and shape scholarly arguments, drawing on short stories from Hawthorne to Manhire. Enhances both research and writing skills.
This paper teaches aspects of how to write about literature, but also examines how others have written about literature. Rather than surveying different critical methodologies (as in ENGL 233), the paper is structured around a selection of short stories and critical essays about those stories, looking at how critics tackle different sorts of problems in literary works and how they engage with both the author and other critics in responding to texts.
ENGL 368 is recommended for all students considering further study of English. It is also a fitting conclusion to a focus on writing in a literature degree. Because students determine their own topics for the research essay, the paper caters to those interested in learning more about a particular literary topic, either as preparation for a future dissertation or because they have not had a chance to study a favourite author or work in your other papers. Two of the stories are parodies, and students may choose to write a parody (accompanied by a critical discussion of the aim of the parody) as their research project.
| Paper title | Engaging Literary Stories |
|---|---|
| Paper code | ENGL368 |
| Subject | English |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Not offered in 2023 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $955.05 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 18 200-level ENGL points
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Notes
- Students who have not passed the normal prerequisite may be admitted with approval from the Head of Department.
- Contact
- shef.rogers@otago.ac.nz
- More information link
View more information on the English and Linguistics Programme website
- Teaching staff
- Paper Structure
- The paper is 100% internally-assessed, so there are relatively frequent assessments, including a major research essay that will be developed through a proposal stage and revised to a final form, as well as a group handprinting exercise on the University's beautiful Columbian press. There is little down time, but no final exam.
- Teaching Arrangements
This paper is designed to be engagingly participatory. It meets for one 2-hour session each week (with a break in the middle). There is also a weekly 2-hour tutorial for hands-on instruction in libraries, in Special Collections and in the bibliography room.
- Textbooks
All readings are available through Blackboard. The paper includes stories by Poe, Davin, Raymond Carver and Ken Liu among others.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Scholarship, Critical thinking, Information literacy, Research.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this paper will be able to:
- Distinguish among types of literary evidence
- Locate sources of that evidence in Dunedin repositories and online
- Access and manipulate that evidence through various electronic formats to incorporate it into their own word processing
- Present their findings in a standard professional format, including appropriate references and layout
- Understand the distinctions among common academic writing tasks such as an annotated bibliography, a review, an abstract and an essay
- Possess a familiarity with a range of approaches to literary evidence: physical, biographical, editorial and contextual
- Grasp the significance, advantages and limitations of various new technologies for presenting literary scholarship
- Understand the essentials of handprinting with movable type
