1. Demonstrate detailed and coherent knowledge of some of the key issues, concepts and debates in the field of ecocriticism.
2. Demonstrate skills of enquiry and analysis through close reading of primary texts, drawing on research from a range of appropriate critical/theoretical sources.
3. Critically evaluate and apply theoretical material to texts.
4. Communicate ecocritical concepts in writing with clarity and style.

Learning Portfolio – to consist of two contributions to group learning on the module using authentic assessment forms such as podcasts, presentations, vlogs, blogs, leading group sessions, poster presentations. Forms must vary in each portfolio. Final piece in the portfolio will be a ‘verbal pitch’: student must pitch their ideas for their final assignment to a tutor. Each piece must incorporate reflection. (LOs: 1,2,3)
Essay or piece of creative writing – a literary-critical essay or a piece of ecocentric creative writing. (LOs: 1,2,3,4)

This module is principally about ecocriticism: analysing texts for what they say about nature and the place of the human within it. Specifically, the focus of this module will be to look at the ways in which contemporary and children’s literature registers the Anthropocene. Texts studied may include contemporary novels/short stories/poetry/drama/literature for children and young adults as well as non-fiction nature writing. Students will contribute to the module via their portfolios and will ultimately submit either an ecocritical essay or a piece of ecocentric creative writing.

How is contemporary writing and literature for children and young adults responding to ecological issues? How might we analyse literature in ways that connect to contemporary debates about humanity and our impact upon the environment? Through the study of recently published literature and children’s literature the module guides you towards your own critical and/or creative literary responses to issues such as climate change and altered perceptions of humanity.

Teaching will be delivered by weekly workshops which will involve segments of lecture, discussion activities, student participation and analytical practice. There will also be programme- and/or department-wide developmental sessions convened by the team.

Adam Trexler (2015) Anthropocene Fictions: The Novel in a Time of Climate Change.¿ University of Virginia Press.
Bracke, Astrid (2018) Climate Crisis and the 21st-Century British Novel. London: Bloomsbury.
Branch, M.P. and Slovic, S. (2003) The ISLE reader: ecocriticism, 1993-2003. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
Clarke, B. and Rossini, M. (2017) The Cambridge companion to literature and the posthuman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Clark, T. (2015) Ecocriticism on the Edge: the Anthropocene as a threshold concept. London: Bloomsbury.
Garrard, G. (2012) Ecocriticism. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.
Garrard, G. (2014) The Oxford handbook of ecocriticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Goodwin, M. (2011) ‘The Garden and the Jungle: Burnett, Kipling and the Nature of Imperial Childhood’, Children's Literature in Education, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 105-117.
Hiltner, K. (2014) Ecocriticism¿: the essential reader. London: Routledge.
McCulloch, Fiona (2011) Children’s Literature in Context. Continuum.
Rudrum, D. & Stavris, N. (2015), Supplanting the Postmodern: an anthology of writings on the arts and culture of the early 21st century, London: Bloomsbury.
Smith, Jos and Greg Garrard (2017) The New Nature Writing. Bloomsbury: London.
Thacker, D.C. & Webb, J. (2002) Introducing Children's Literature: From Romanticism to Postmodernism. London: Routledge.
Westling, L.H. (2014) The Cambridge companion to Literature and the Environment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Library & VLE