Universität Wien

123251 AR Literature Course - Literature 1/2 (MA) British/Irish/New English & Cultural Studies (2021W)

Time travelling in fiction and film

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work
REMOTE

in preparation
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 07.10. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 14.10. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 21.10. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 28.10. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 04.11. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 11.11. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 18.11. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 25.11. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 02.12. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 09.12. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 16.12. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 13.01. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 20.01. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital
  • Thursday 27.01. 10:15 - 11:45 Digital

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Time travel to the future and the past is a fictional possibility that has fascinated writers for more than 100 years. This course will deal predominantly British examples of time travel literature and films or series from the 20th and 21st centuries to examine the diversity of the genre. From the legacy text The Time Machine (H.G. Wells, 1895) to the film classic Back to the Future (1985), we will travel through the history of time travel ourselves, focussing on late 20th century and early 21st century stories.
Aims of the course: At the end of term, students will
- be familiar with science fiction or fantasy conventions and able to apply them to selected texts
- analyse selected time travel texts and films in detail on the basis of close reading
- employ their English studies skills gained so far to reflect on literary, sociohistorical, ideological and other perspectives on selected texts
- learn to put forward careful arguments to make their points in the appropriate language, in writing and speaking
Methods:
The class will be based on teacher’s input and students’ prior reading, which will enable engaged discussions, either in small groups (breakout rooms) or in a larger forum. Students will prepare short presentations or handouts and use those as a basis for discussion.
In this online course, we will “meet” regularly on zoom via moodle at the stated time. To take part in these meetings, please make sure you have access to a computer and an internet connection that is stable enough to enable you as full and uninterrupted a participation as possible. You will also need a camera and a microphone (inbuilt or webcam) for our sessions, and a headset would be preferable. The meetings will be recorded.

Assessment and permitted materials

Presence and participation in the online meetings is mandatory. You can have two absences. Please make sure you watch the recordings of any sessions you have missed and bring yourselves up to date on tasks and readings.
You will be expected to prepare short multimodal presentations to share with your colleagues, post shorter written assignments and, at the end of term, hand in a longer piece of writing.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The grade will consist of the following:
Participation (online participation in live sessions and smaller assignments): 20%
Presentation and discussion: 20%
2 short assignments of 500-550 words each: 20%
Final assignment of 4000-4400 words: 40%
Each of these needs to be positive (51% each). The minimum to pass this class altogether is 60%.
Grading scale:
Max. 100 pts; Pass rate: 60%
Grading scale:
100-90 Sehr Gut
91-80 Gut
81-70 Befriedigend
71-60 Genügend
59-0 Nicht Genügend

Examination topics

The individual assignments will be posted on moodle.

Reading list

The short stories, theoretical texts and others will be posted on Moodle. Please get hold of copies of the following twonovels: Kate Mascarenhas, "The Psychology of Time Travel" (2018) and Patience Agbabi, "The Infinite" (2020). If you haven’t read H.G. Wells’s "The Time Machine" (1895), which is the main legacy text for later time travel adventures, please do so before the seminar. A link to the Gutenberg text file will be posted on moodle, but of course annotated copies might be more helpful. I will also expect you to watch the movie Back to the Future (1985), in whatever medium is available to you.

Association in the course directory

Studium: MA 844; MA 844(2); MA UF 046/507
Code/Modul: MA4, MA6, MA7; MA 3.1, 3.2; M04A
Lehrinhalt: 12-0317

Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:16