Mid-semester essay: comparison of two critical/theoretical essays (Essay of 1,000 words, 25%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 3, 4,5]
End-of-course essay: essay on two primary texts (Essay of 4,000 words, 75%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4]

This module will explore the emerging area of ecocritical literary studies. Some of the key ideas of this module will be: the difference between 'environment' and 'ecosystem', land and identity, Cartesian dualism (and thinking beyond it), and the connection between ecology, culture and literature. We will assess the different ways these concepts emerge in a study of texts from both 'popular' and 'literary' contemporary authors. In doing so, we will need to navigate through several contingent themes such as scientific/technological developments, colonisation, gender and some events in recent political history (i.e. the Holocaust). The main aim of this module will be to develop literary critical approaches which take into account one of the most pressing issues of our time: the state of the Earth's ecosystem.

Examples of texts (which may vary)
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton (1991)
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood (2003)
Life and Times of Michael K - J.M. Coetzee (1983)
Fugitive Pieces - Anne Michaels (1997)
A selection of poetry

Contact teaching will be a mix of lecture, workshop and small-group discussion. Students will be expected to work both independently (on research and preparation for both classes and assessments) and as part of a team (on some class exercises and presentation work).

OHP, Video/DVD, Library, Internet.

Selected secondary material
Jonathan Bate The Song of the Earth London: Picador, 2000.
Lawrence Coupe (ed.) The Green Studies Reader: From Romanticism to Ecocriticism London: Routledge, 2000.
Greg Garrard, Ecocriticism London: Routledge, 2004.
Wendy Wheeler A New Modernity? Change in Science, Literature and Politics. London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1999.