EN2902 Writing Scotland: Creative and Critical Approaches

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 1

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

20

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 8

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.

Availability restrictions

Only available to Evening Degree students.

Planned timetable

Lecture: Thu 6.30pm Tutorial: Thu 7.30 - 9.00pm

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr H A R Archer

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

Module Staff

Dr Harriet Archer

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

Module description

What is Scotland? How does a nation take shape on paper, and who gets to decide which aspects will take hold in the cultural imagination? In this module we will explore the ways in which Scotland as a location and an idea has been constructed and represented in literature from the Middle Ages to the present day, at home and abroad, in prose, poetry and drama, as well as how we ourselves might participate in the project of “writing Scotland”. Beginning with three weeks on Scottish writing about what it means to live in and identify with Scotland from a variety of perspectives, we’ll then turn to three texts in which the nation has been characterized from the outside – each of these sections will be assessed through a research essay – before considering with guidance from practicing poets and authors how contemporary writing might model techniques for capturing a sense of place, history, and identity in an original creative piece, and reflecting on this process in a critical commentary.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS EN1901

Anti-requisites

YOU CANNOT TAKE THIS MODULE IF YOU TAKE EN2901

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

100% Written Examination

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 lecture (x10 weeks), 1 tutorial of 1h30 (x10 weeks), 2 office hours (x10 weeks)

Intended learning outcomes

  • encounter a wide range of literary styles and genres, and be able to identify and analyse their key features
  • gain a sense of the variety of approaches to questions of nationhood and national identity in Scotland and beyond, and their development from premodern eras to the present day
  • build on skills introduced in EN1901 in relating primary texts to secondary material, both critical and historical, and, through discussion and written essays, develop ability to talk and write about literary texts with fluency and technical understanding
  • put some of the literary techniques studied into practice, and be able to reflect critically on how and why creative writing generates particular effects
  • be able to articulate and interrogate how issues of diversity, sustainability and enterprise intersect in cultural representations of Scotland and Scottishness