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Module Specifications

Archived Version 2019 - 2020

Module Title
Module Code
School

Online Module Resources

NFQ level 9 Credit Rating 10
Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None
Description

Adventure and school stories provide imagined spaces wherein young protagonists enjoy exciting adventures and/or receive the education that facilitates their transition into adolescence/adulthood; they also frequently reflect/challenge/help shape the values and attitudes of the culture that produce/d them, thereby demonstrating what that culture expects of young readers as they move towards maturity. The first unit of the module will introduce students to adventures stories for children, tracing how that genre evolved between the early nineteenth century and the late twentieth century; the second will acquaint them with the development of the school story within the same period. In so doing, both parts of the module will explore representations of and connections between masculinity, femininity, and social class in the texts under discussion; they will also consider the relationship between such literature and the construction of notions of nationhood/nationalism and, where appropriate, imperialism. Further issues addressed by the module will be the ways in which these genres sometimes overlap; another will be the extent to which certain of the works primarily serve/served adult nostalgia.

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the history of adventure and school stories from the early nineteenth century until the present moment.
2. Recognize the key characteristics of adventure stories and school stories, and be able to describe them.
3. Understand how representations of masculinity, femininity, and social class in such stories may be linked to emerging notions of gender and class during the periods under discussion.
4. Demonstrate an appreciation of how such stories contribute/d to evolving notions of national/imperial identity.
5. Appreciate how such works raise issues relating to audience.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture22Lecture
Independent Study127Assigned Independent Weekly Reading
Independent Study101Independent Learning
Total Workload: 250

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Indicative Seminar Content for the two strands of the module
1. Introduction 2. Ann Fraser Tytler, Leila; or, The Island (1839) 3. R.L. Stevenson, Treasure Island (1883) 4. Rider Haggard, King Solomon’s Mines (1885) 5. Jack London, The Call of the Wild (1903) 6. Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little Princess (1905) 7. Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons (1930) 8. Enid Blyton, The Mountain of Adventure (1949) 9. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (2008) 1. Introduction 2. Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1857) 3. Rudyard Kipling, Stalky & Co. (1899) 4. E.F. Benson, David Blaize (1916) 5. Dorita FairlieBruce, Dimsie Goes to School (1921) 6. Antonia White, Frost in May (1933) 7. Elinor M. Brent-Dyer The Chalet School in Exile (1940) 8. Antonia Forest, Autumn Term (1947) and End of Term (1959) 9. J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment% Examination Weight%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
1 = A resit is available for all components of the module
2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module
3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
Unavailable
Indicative Reading List

  • Bloom, James J: 2013, The Imaginary Sea Voyage: Sailing Away in Literature, Legend and Lore., McFarland & Co., London,
  • Brantlinger, Patrick: 1998, Rule of Darkness: British Literature and Imperialism, 1830-1914, Cornell University Press, Ithaca,
  • Bristow, Joseph: 1991, Empire Boys: Adventures in a Man’s World, HarperCollins, London,
  • Butts, Dennis: 1996, ‘Shaping Boyhood: Empire Builders and Adventurers’ in Peter Hunt (ed). International Companion Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, Routledge, London,
  • Cadogan, Mary and Craig, Patricia: 1976, You’re a Brick, Angela: A New Look at Girls' Fiction from 1839 to 1975, Gollancz, London,
  • Grenby, M.O. and Andrea Immel (eds): 2009, The Cambridge Companion to Children’s Literature., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
  • Kutzer, M. Daphne: 2000, Empire’s Children: Empire and Imperialism in Classic British Children’s Books, Garland, New York and London,
  • Quigley, Isobel: 1982, The Heirs of Tom Brown: The English School Story, Chatto & Windus, London,
  • Ray, Sheila: 1996, . ‘School Stories’ in Peter Hunt (ed). International Companion Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature,
Other Resources

None
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