GM4061 Animals in Literature and Film

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

15

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Module coordinator

Dr D E Osborne

Dr D E Osborne
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Dora Osborne

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module focuses on twentieth century and contemporary literature and film from German and Austrian contexts that feature animals. Drawing on the insights of Animal Studies, it considers how animals are represented on page and screen and to what ends. Are animals used purely to reflect concerns about our own human identity, or are they significant in their own terms? What do these animals tell us about representation – about language, about images – and the limits to our ability to understand ourselves and others? Working with a range of material (poems, prose, a graphic novel, a documentary film, a feature film), students will consider these questions about human-animal relations as posed by German and Austrian authors and directors, as well as in relation to German and Austrian history and culture.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS GM2002 OR PASS GM2010

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

Written Examination = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

90-minute seminar

Scheduled learning hours

16

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

132

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • By the end of this module, students will be able to understand the significance of animals for different literary texts and films
  • By the end of this module, students will be able to engage with debates around human-animal relationships as articulated in Animal Studies
  • By the end of this module, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of a number of primary sources that feature animals
  • By the end of this module, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the cultural and historical contexts relevant to these sources