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21st Century American Fiction - ENG00048H

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  • Department: English and Related Literature
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. Alexandra Kingston-Reese
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: H
  • Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
    • See module specification for other years: 2022-23

Module summary

How are 21st-century American novelists imagining and interrogating the changing social and cultural landscape in which they write? What relationships exist between new fiction and recent transformations in US economics, politics, and media? What formal and thematic trends make 21st-century fiction unique? If we are no longer living in the era of postmodern fiction, how shall we define the new literary moment?

This module will address these questions and others by exploring a range of American fiction published since 2000. We will examine the authors studied over paired weeks under four headings: 1) History, Politics, Aesthetics; 2) Work, Media, Economy; 3) Nation, Race, Class; 4) Genre, Dystopia, Utopia. We will also read a range of non-fiction texts that are being used to conceptualize 21st-century American literature and culture.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 1 2023-24

Module aims

The aim of this module is to explore some major writers and trends in 21st-century American fiction, particularly in relationship to transformations in American culture since 2000.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module you should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with a range of fiction published by US writers since 2000
  2. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with some of the main formal trends and innovations in 21st-century American writing
  3. Examine key debates and critical contexts, including the ways in which transformations in contemporary American culture relate to recent American fiction.
  4. Develop oral and written arguments that demonstrate a proficiency in critical thinking and research skills

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Essay		 N/A 100

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

You will be given the opportunity to submit a 1000-word formative essay for the module, which can feed into the 3000-word summative essay submitted at the end of the module.

Your essay will be annotated and returned to you by your tutor within two weeks.

You will submit your summative essay via the VLE during the revision and assessment weeks at the end of the teaching semester (weeks 13-15). Feedback on your summative essay will be uploaded to e:Vision to meet the University’s marking deadlines.

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Essay		 N/A 100

Module feedback

You will receive feedback on all assessed work within the University deadline, and will often receive it more quickly. The purpose of feedback is to inform your future work; it is designed to help you to improve your work, and the Department also offers you help in learning from your feedback. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further you can discuss it with your tutor or your supervisor, during their Open Office Hours

For more information about the feedback you will receive for your work, see the department's Guide to Assessment

Indicative reading

Texts studied on this module may include:

  • EGGERS, Dave. The Circle. London: Picador, 2014. ISBN: 978-0241146507
  • LERNER, Ben. 10.04. London: Granta, 2015. ISBN: 978-1847088932
  • POWERS, Richard. Generosity. New York: Atlantic, 2011. ISBN: 978-1848871274
  • SPIOTTA, Dana. Eat the Document. London: Picador, 2008. ISBN: 978-0330448291
  • WALDMAN, Amy. The Submission. London: Windmill, 2012. ISBN: 978-0099528241
  • WARD, Jesmyn. Salvage the Bones. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN: 978-1408897720
  • WHITEHEAD, Colson. Zone One. New York: Vintage, 2012. ISBN: 978-0099570141


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.