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Writing Worlds: Power, Publishing & Resistance - ENG00148M

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

Module summary

This module explores how international writers, artists and publishers register, diagnose, and resist global power structures—including those which structure the world-literary publishing marketplace—through their creative work. Rather than assuming a fixed relationship between power, literature and publishing, we will explore the complex and changing intersections of creative work and the material, political and social worlds in which it is produced, through a series of case studies. Together we will explore examples from the era of postwar decolonization up to the present, from radical magazines in 1960s India to contemporary calls to decolonize the creative industries. The module will include guest workshops with industry specialists, and students will assess present-day initiatives in relation to a longer, global history of writing, publishing and radical organizing. By tracing the intersections and differences between the examples we study, we will create a variegated picture of ‘publishing and power’ worldwide.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Spring Term 2022-23

Module aims

This module aims to develop a global, comparative perspective on questions of publishing and power. By investigating examples of literary and print activism from varied historical moments, it will assess contemporary publishing initiatives in relation to a longer history of creative work. It will stimulate a new perspective on what it means to write and publish in the global literary marketplace today.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you should be able to:
Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with global histories of radical publishing and literary activism
Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with critical debates around world literature, including the relation between literature and the global literary marketplace.
Evaluate key debates within the relevant critical fields dealing with the relations between publishing and power.
Produce independent arguments and ideas which demonstrate an advanced proficiency in critical thinking, research, and writing skills.

Module content

James L. Baughman, Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen and James P. Danky, Protest on the Page: Essays on Print and the Culture of Dissent (2015)
Eric Jon Bulson, Little Magazine, World Form (2016)
Margaret Busby, ed. Daughters of Africa (1992)
Sarah Brouilette, Postcolonial Writers and the Global Literary Marketplace (2007)
Teju Cole, Open City (2011)
Graham Huggan, The Postcolonial Exotic (2001)
Han Kang, trans. Deborah Smith, The Vegetarian (2007)

Assessment

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

Special assessment rules

None

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 module tutor, the MA Convenor or your supervisor, during their Open Office Hours.

Indicative reading

James L. Baughman, Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen and James P. Danky, Protest on the Page: Essays on Print and the Culture of Dissent (2015)
Eric Jon Bulson, Little Magazine, World Form (2016)
Margaret Busby, ed. Daughters of Africa (1992)
Sarah Brouilette, Postcolonial Writers and the Global Literary Marketplace (2007)
Teju Cole, Open City (2011)
Graham Huggan, The Postcolonial Exotic (2001)
Han Kang, trans. Deborah Smith, The Vegetarian (2007)


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.