Literature, Society and the City

3 ECTS credits
90 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1024017BNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.

Semester

1st semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Taught in

English

Faculty

Faculty of Languages & Humanities

Department

Linguistics and Literary Studies

Educational team

Marcela Scibiorska
Elisabeth Bekers (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

26 contact hours Lecture
12 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course examines literature’s relation to the city and society at large by means of a variety of literary texts belonging to various literary movements and genres and produced in different historical, geographical and sociocultural contexts. Special attention is paid to cultural and sociological approaches to literature, authors belonging to minoritised groups and trends such as modernisation, urbanisation, the rise of capitalism, globalisation, diversity, human rights and climate change.

Course material

Digital course material (Required) : Course slides, Bekers Elisabeth, updated annually, CANVAS

Additional info

Interactive lectures are accompanied by reading assignments that guide the students’ home preparation as well as the discussion in class. Active participation in the course is essential.

Students are assumed to have intermediate skills in literary analysis (including a solid knowledge of literary terms and concepts) and a good level of reading, listening, speaking and writing skills in English.

See Canvas for more detailed information.

In order to take this class, compulsory additional costs may be charged in addition to the invoice sent to you as a student by the Student Administration Centre: for participation in literary events off campus a minimum contribution of €5 and a maximum contribution of €15 will be required. The costs are borne by the student and can neither be passed on to fellow students nor recovered from the lecturer or faculty. The amounts stated are approximately correct. If you experience payment difficulties as a result of these additional costs, you can contact Student Social Services via sociale.dienst.studenten@vub.ac.be or + 32 2 629 23 15. More information can also be found on https://my.vub.ac.be/en/social-services.

Learning Outcomes

General Competences

The students deepen their insight into the relation of literature to the city and society at large and into cultural and sociological literary studies. They broaden their awareness of the interconnectedness of literary trends and broader societal evolutions. They are able to use a range of cultural and sociological approaches to literature to interpret literary texts by themselves and can report on their interpretations. They advance their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills as well as their intermediary skills in analysing literary texts.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Written with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

The exam may include an oral component. In the second exam session the format of the exam may differ.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context