Queer Fictions (Q3186D2)

30 credits, Level 6

Spring teaching

This module offers students the opportunity to explore recent American literary texts alongside some key contemporary queer theoretical ideas that explore queerness in American culture and society. Students will develop an up to date and in-depth understanding of key queer theoretical developments that may touch on issues such as, for example: the queer child, queerness and temporality, queer affects, life writing, intersectionality and identity, queer negativity, queer utopianism, and queerness and diaspora. At the same time, students will consider diverse works of post-WWII American literature that offer a range of perspectives on identity, race, nation, gender, and sexuality. Overall, the module will explore how to bring theoretical concepts into conversation with literary texts, and how queerness is represented and theorised in American society, literature, and culture.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 267 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to COVID-19, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let our applicants know of material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.