Both assessments to be handed in at the end of the module:
Reflective Diary – 70%, 2,500 words. [Learning outcomes 1, 2]
Annotated Bibliography – 30%, 1,000 words. [Learning outcomes 2, 3]

Students will be introduced to advanced theoretical and critical approaches to literature (which forms the methodology of the discipline). Students will be exposed to the major theoretical and critical debates via seminal texts, and will reflect upon and engage with these through a reflective diary (assessed). Students will be inducted into the process of high-level research, including the evaluation of sources and the cultivation of a critical objectivity, as is required for postgraduate study. Teaching on this module will also cover practical elements such as formatting conventions (bibliography, referencing, footnoting etc.). The module will be aimed at helping the students to locate their project in the context of their discipline: to this end, a variety different approaches to research will be explored.

Two-hour fortnightly workshops over the twelve weeks of semester 1, with hand-outs & summaries available online via Blackboard.

Library and IT facilities, especially the printed journals collection and JSTOR archive, the MLA database, Box of Broadcasts, the Oxford Online Reference Collection, Blackboard.

Newberry, D. (1996) Designing and managing a research project: a research guide. BIAD Birmingham: UCE
Biggam, John. (2011) Succeeding with your Master's Dissertation. Open University.
Bui, Yvonne (2009) How to Write a Master's Thesis. London: Sage
Casey, Debbie (2011) Study Skills for Masters Level Students. Reflect
Fry, Paul H. (2012) Theory of Literature. Yale U.P.
Hejinian, Lyn (2001) Language of Inquiry. California U.P.
Jameson, Frederic (1995) The Condition of Postmodernity
Lane, R. J. ed. (2013) Global Literary Theory: An Anthology. London: Routledge.
Leitch, V. et al eds. (2001) The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. New York: W.W.Norton and Co.
Lodge, David (1988) Modern Criticism and Theory: A Reader
Middleton, Peter (2015) Physics Envy. University of Chicago Press.
Race, Phil (1998) 500 Tips for Open and Flexible Learning. London: Kogan Page
Richardson, Laurel (2000) ‘Writing: a Method of Inquiry’
Rudrum, D. and N. Stavris eds. (2015) Supplanting the Postmodern: An Anthology of Writings on the Arts and Culture of the Early 21st Century. London: Bloomsbury.
Torgovnik, Mariana (1990) ‘Experimental Critical Writing’ PMLA
Useful websites:
www.postgraduatetoolbox.com
www.vitae.ac.uk

1.UNDERSTAND AND APPLY KEY CRITICAL AND THEORETICAL DEBATES TO YOUR OWN METHODS OF RESEARCH
[Knowledge and Understanding; Application]

2.CRITICALLY REFLECT UPON KEY TEXTS AND ARGUMENTS STUDIED ON THE MODULE AND PROACTIVELY AND INDEPENDENTLY PURSUE FURTHER KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN THESE AREAS
[Enquiry; Learning; Reflection]

3.CRITICALLY EVALUATE RESEARCH MATERIAL AND ASSESS ITS RELEVANCE TO YOUR PROJECT
[Problem Solving; Reflection]