Metamodernism and Contemporary British Fiction
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| ENGL4373 | English | 4 | N/A | April Full Year UK, Full Year UK, January Full Year UK |
- Code
- ENGL4373
- School
- English
- Level
- 4
- Credits
- N/A
- Semesters
- April Full Year UK, Full Year UK, January Full Year UK
Summary
In this pod students will explore emerging definitions of ‘metamodernism’ as a way of thinking about major philosophical and cultural transformations that have taken hold since around the turn of the millennium and in the wake of postmodernism. This will illuminate important artistic and intellectual shifts in contemporary British fiction. Through close case studies of novels by Zadie Smith, Ali Smith and Nicola Barker, you will reflect on metamodern concerns including the legacies of modernism and postmodernism, the renewed engagement with ethics (otherness, love, truth etc.), the return of affect, and the problem of connection in a global and digital age.
Target Students
Students registered on the School of English online masters scheme.
Assessment
- 100% Participation: Student participation
Assessed by end of designated period
Educational Aims
This module comprises an optional component in the following pathways: Applied English, English Literature, and Modern and Contemporary Literature. As such, it contributes in its specific aims to the programme-level coverage of these pathways.Learning Outcomes
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of metamodernism as a critical concept and historical phenomenon.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of important formal and philosophical developments in twenty-first-century British fiction.
Apply intellectual and historical contexts to close readings of contemporary novels.
Demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired to the appropriate disciplinary and professional standard.
Assimilate and present subject-specific material in an appropriate format (assessed within the ‘Assessment Portfolio’ 1, 2 or 3).
Conveners
- Benjamin Masters