Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

This course takes a comparative approach to the study of the lifecycle of texts across time and space. We will consider questions around the production, distribution, and consumption of books (broadly conceived) as material objects. The course will include a book-in-hand component, with planned visits to rare books collections in Glasgow. A mix of traditional and non-traditional readings and forms of assessment will support the development of graduate attributes.

20 x 1 hour seminar sessions, including planned visits to Special Collections which may take place outside of usual class time as scheduled in MyCampus. This is one of the Honours options in Comparative Literature and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into one of the SMLC Honours programmes, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

none

none

Commentary (1,000 words) - 25%

Essay (3000 words) - 75%

The assessments require students to demonstrate their understanding of how issues of materiality affect and enhance our appreciation of texts. The course is developed via visual materials, which might pose a barrier to some students, in particular students with visual impairment. Audio captioning will be used as much as possible, and a variety of audio materials will be included in our discussion. A broad array of primary text examples will enable students to choose concrete case studies they are most comfortable with, both via course selection and self-directed.

Any additional support materials will be developed in consultation with students if and as required on receipt of study plans.

■ Encourage students to think holistically about texts as physical objects which exist within their own ecosystem

■ Introduce different forms of materiality in the comparative study of global cultural productions

■ Familiarise students with a variety of material textual forms and forms of agency

■ Demonstrate the value of object-led modes of enquiry and analysis

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Synthetise and appraise information related to the materiality of texts and their own ecosystem(s)

■ Compare different texts based on their distinctive materialities

■ Contextualise and articulate their understanding of literary outputs within the context of materiality and agency

■ Approach the study of literature through object-led forms of analysis, expanding their existing close-reading skills to material features related to the lifecycle of texts