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Module code: EN342
Credits: 5
Semester: 1
Quota: 100
Department: ENGLISH
International: No
Overview Overview
 

The planet is in crisis: climate change and ‘the great extinction’ are already well underway. Recent attention to the high levels of plastic in the world’s oceans and the loss of natural ecosystems has focused minds on how much the world is losing. As we become increasingly conscious of the impact of humanity on the natural and biophysical environment, this module asks how it came to this and what we can do about it. Primarily focusing on early modern literature, the module draws on developments in ecocriticism to consider how literary texts provide ecological insights, how they represent the complex interrelations between humans and nature, how they unsettle human exceptionalism, and how they address questions of sustainability. The early modern period, associated with the rise of capitalism, advances in cartography and navigation, colonial incursions into the “New World”, Africa and Asia (the first globalisation), offers a unique case study for eco-critical interpretation and for exploring the literatures and histories of environmentalism. The module encourages students to read from this present moment of climate change and to consider the creative and ethical insights available within past expressions of nature, of animals and non-human life, and of oceans, which Shakespeare calls “Neptune’s empire”.

Open Learning Outcomes
 
Open Teaching & Learning methods
 
Open Assessment
 
Open Autumn Supplementals/Resits
 
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