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EL45SC: NOT THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH (2021-2022)

Last modified: 31 May 2022 13:05


Course Overview

This course will focus on the ways in which non-standard English is used within anglophone literary texts from the late-eighteenth century to the present day. Classes will cover a wide range of geographical spaces and publishing contexts: different weeks will focus on ballad collecting and linguistic antiquarianism, the use of language in American abolitionist texts, working-class voices in nineteenth-century English novels, postcolonial approaches to English, Scottish post-industrial writing and contemporary African-American literature. Authors covered may include: Walter Scott, Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Edwin Pugh, Zora Neale Hurston, Chinua Achebe, Jamaica Kincaid, Tom Leonard and Percival Everett.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Term Second Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Sarah Sharp

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

  • Either Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
  • English (EL)
  • Any Undergraduate Programme

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

This course will focus on the ways in which non-standard English is used within anglophone literary texts from the late-eighteenth century to the present day. Classes will cover a wide range of geographical spaces and publishing contexts: different weeks will focus on ballad collecting and linguistic antiquarianism, the use of language in American abolitionist texts, working-class voices in nineteenth-century English novels, postcolonial approaches to English, Scottish post-industrial writing and contemporary African-American literature. Authors covered may include: Walter Scott, Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Edwin Pugh, Zora Neale Hurston, Chinua Achebe, Jamaica Kincaid, Tom Leonard and Percival Everett.


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 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Alternative Assessment

3,500-word Essay 60%

1,000-word Close Reading 25%

Presentation / Poster 15%

Alternative Resit Assessment

3,500-word Essay 100%

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseStudents completing the course will be able to engage with key debates around the status of non-standard English verbally and in writing.
ProceduralApplyStudents completing the course will be able to produce critical interpretations of texts from the course verbally and in writing.
ConceptualUnderstandStudents completing the course will have a developed knowledge and understanding of the history of English language use in British, American and Postcolonial literary contexts.

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