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EL40QV: HORRIBLE HISTORIES: VIOLENCE AND TRAUMA IN THE SCOTTISH NOVEL (2017-2018)

Last modified: 27 Feb 2018 11:11


Course Overview

Scotland's history is one of violence, bloodshed and trauma. This is reflected in its literature, above all in the fiction of the nineteenth century. Focusing on pivotal moments of upheaval in Scotland's past such as the Covenanting Wars and the Jacobite Risings this course will explore the ways in which these violent events are reflected in the works of writers such as Walter Scott, James Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson and those in the modern period who have inherited their legacy. Exploring key concepts such as how the novel might approach and engage with the past, the extent to which it may operate as a form of commemoration and the limits which traumatic events place upon forms of narration, the course will examine the ways in which we can comprehend and remember a nation's violent history through the form of the novel.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Session First Sub Session Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus None. Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Professor Alison Lumsden

Qualification Prerequisites

None.

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Programme Level 4
  • Either English (EL) or Literature In A World Context (LW)
  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

  • EL40QT Historical Nation: Writing Scotland's Past (Studied)
  • EL45QV Horrible Histories: Violence and Trauma in the Scottish Novel (Studied)

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

Scotland's history is one of violence, bloodshed and trauma. This is reflected in its literature, above all in the fiction of the nineteenth century. Focusing on pivotal moments of upheaval in Scotland's past such as the Covenanting Wars and the Jacobite Risings this course will explore the ways in which these violent events are reflected in the works of writers such as Walter Scott, James Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson and those in the modern period who have inherited their legacy. Exploring key concepts such as how the novel might approach and engage with the past, the extent to which it may operate as a form of commemoration and the limits which traumatic events place upon forms of narration, the course will examine the ways in which we can comprehend and remember a nation's violent history through the form of the novel.

Further Information & Notes

This course will count as 30 credits of Scottish literature for those students on the MA in English with Scottish literature.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt:

1500 word exercise (20%)

4500 word essay (60%)

Group Project (10%)

750 word reflective piece (10%)

Formative Assessment

Oral feedback will be given throughout seminar discussion. Written and oral feedback will be given on the first essay in good time to be of benefit before the second essay is submitted

Feedback

Feedback will be given in both written and oral form and using the standard programme feedback sheet.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.

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