CW216-15 Love Will Tear Us Apart - The Contemporary Realist Romance
Introductory description
The module will engage with the evolution of love from the ambivalence of modernism (constituting critiques of the possibility of oneness in amorous fantasy - questioning the relation between redemption and love) to contemporary forms, namely amorous negativity and its reconfiguration of affective, sexual and historical relations of affiliation. Love is violent, jealous, divisive and destructive - and possibly untenable. But there is hope yet, as Ashley Shelden suggests in Unmaking Love , because 'the untenable alternative is better than the constraining ideology of oneness'. Indeed, 'in contemporary literature the meaning of love can no longer be taken for granted.' Through this lens, we will look at 'individual desire' as a possible ground of resistance; personal and collective memory, and its relationship to trauma and healing. Readings will contextualise the topic by analysing various expressions of the genre, with a focus on practice-led research in a creative writing workshop environment.
The module features weekly reading and writing tasks.
Module aims
The module is aimed at Third Year students (optional module for the English Literature pathways). It will focus on studying the narrative traditions of romance, making narrative connections classic texts to their contemporary presentations, taking into account the impact these narratives now have. The principal aim is to provide students with an understanding of how these narratives fit into the wider scope of contemporary narrative productions (for example, understanding their connections to counter-culture writing, youth identities and movements, including digital impact), and crucially the practice of said narratives, taking into account unique characteristics in the medium, such as conflict-driven narrative, objective characterisation based on desire, unreliable point of views, and love as a metaphor for wider social-political conflicts.
Along with the primary materials, we will engage with theoretical concerns involved in contemporary presentations of love, as well as reflect on the evolution of various discourses presented in contemporary fiction and their interplay with real life, including their responses to current politics, postmodernity, gender issues and race relationships.
Given its practice-led focus, students will submit writing to be workshopped after Reading Week.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
WEEK 1: Love and Desire (characterisation methods and narrative structure)
Caleb Azuman Nelson, Open Water
Megan Nola, Acts of Desperation
WEEK 2: Love as a metaphor of conflict (contextualising narratives related to the theme of love)
Olivia Sudjic, Asylum Road
WEEK 3: The Individual vs The World (understanding subtextual links between relationships and social commentary)
Alejandro Zambra, Ways of Going Home
Xiaolu Guo, 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth
WEEK 4: Broken Hearts and Antiheroes (analysing the tradition of 'anti-heroes' as expressed through the theme of love)
Iosi Havilio, Petite Fleur
Milan Kundera, 'The Hitchhiking Game' in Laughable Loves
WEEK 5: Where has love gone?! (love and desire in modernity - analysing the effects of late capitalism).
Eliza Clark, Boy Parts
WEEKS 7-10:
Workshops
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of how to write a compelling contemporary realist narrative centred on love and conflict.
- Demonstrate a creative and critical participative approach to contemporary realism its trends.
- Demonstrate practice in the writing of contemporary realist fiction, experimental takes on fiction and critical responses to the genre.
- Demonstrate an understanding of current narrative trends and of where their work fits into them, as well as what they can do differently.
Indicative reading list
Nick Hornby, High Fidelity.
Alejandro Zambra, Ways of Going Home
Megan Nola, Acts of Desperation
Eliza Clark, Boy Parts
Joe Dunthorne, Submarine
Caleb Azuman Nelson, Open Water
Françoise Sagan, Bonjour Tristesse
Olivia Sudjic, Asylum Road
Milan Kundera, Laughable Loves
Iosi Havilio, Petite Fleur
Xiaolu Guo, 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth
González, Aníbal. Love and Politics in the Contemporary Spanish American Novel. University of Texas Press, Austin, 2021.
Shelden, Ashley T. Unmaking Love: The Contemporary Novel and the Impossibility of Union. Columbia University Press, New York, 2019.
Research element
Students will be given research related to each of the week's topics (and expected to do independent research).
International
The reading list will include a plethora of authors from non-UK backgrounds.
Subject specific skills
Writing, editing, communicating research, organising information, sense of an audience.
Transferable skills
Writing, editing, communicating research, organising information, sense of an audience, project management, creativity.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Seminars | 9 sessions of 1 hour 30 minutes (9%) |
| Private study | 36 hours 30 minutes (24%) |
| Assessment | 100 hours (67%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
Reading, research, editing and writing for workshops.
Costs
| Category | Description | Funded by | Cost to student |
|---|---|---|---|
| Books and learning materials |
Module costs will be dependent on the availability of books in the library. (Currently calculated to £3 per week, assuming students purchase all the novels). |
Student | £27.00 |
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Fiction portfolio | 100% | 100 hours | Yes (extension) |
|
5000 words of contemporary fiction |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
In seminar; individual consultation with tutor; email; Moodle; Tabula.
Courses
This module is Optional for:
- Year 2 of UENA-QP36 Undergraduate English Literature and Creative Writing