CS301-6-AU-CO:
Dangerous Ideas: Essays as Social Criticism
2020/21
Interdisciplinary Studies Centre (ISC)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Thursday 08 October 2020
Friday 18 December 2020
15
14 May 2020
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
CS305
(none)
This module examines how writing in the form of the essay can be subversive and shake up conventional ways of thinking and communicating. During the term we will look at several essays that challenge and often satirize dominant ideas, existing social arrangements, and provoke us to explore the many varieties of writing itself. The module seeks to reappraise the essay and follow the important role it has played in the development of the humanities and social sciences from the 16th century to the present. Today the essay is emerging as a critical tool in the examination of all aspects of human experience, both the profound and the ephemeral. Essays may mask themselves as innocent excursions but, as with Jonathan Swift's 'A Modest Proposal' or George Orwell's 'Politics and the English Language,' the essay can rapidly overturn accepted opinions and provoke the questioning of values.
The readings examined on the module are primarily chosen on the basis of their historical impact, current relevance and at the same time selected as models for good writing. It is hoped that a consideration of how ideas are powerfully and succinctly communicated will encourage students to experiment, and thus, broaden the approach of those essays produced by the students who follow the module.
The aims of this module are:
To provide students with a ground in the history of the essay
To explore issues related to the selected essays and to be able to relate those issues to the politics, social contexts and ideological debates of their times, and subsequently
To stimulate students to develop skills in written communication through essay writing, and through oral communication and debate in seminars
To encourage students to think and write in both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary ways
By the end of this module the student should:
be able to demonstrate a familiarity with, and an understanding of the material considered on the module, specifically the history of the essay;
be able to draw connections between a diverse range of written forms produced in different historical periods;
be able to distinguish critically between different methodological and disciplinary approaches to the issues in question;
be able to write in an informed, critical and argumentative manner on the material covered by the module.
To prepare for this module, suggested introductory reading:
Orwell, George. 'Politics and the English Language' [1946]. In The Penguin Essays of George Orwell, 354-367. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1994.
There will be a one hour lecture and one-hour class/seminar each week. All teaching events will be accessible to students on and off campus either face-to-face or remotely through online teaching. Week 8 is Reading Week.
- Friedman, Milton; Friedman, Rose. (1980) Free to Choose, London: Penguin Books Ltd.
- Breanne Fahs. (2008) 'The Radical Possibilities of Valerie Solanas', in Feminist Studies. vol. 34 (3, The 1970s Issue) , pp.591-617
- Henry David Thoreau. (2016) Civil Disobedience: Broadview Press, 2016.
- Marinetti, F. T. (2009) 'Founding and manifesto of futurism 1909', in Futurist manifestos, London: Tate.
- Joselit, David. (2016) '1909', in Art since 1900: modernism, antimodernism, postmodernism, London: Thames and Hudson.
- Montaigne, Michel. (1993) 'Of the Cannibals [1588]', in Complete Essays, London: Penguin Books Ltd.
- Berger, John. (1992) 'Ape theatre', in Keeping a rendezvous, London: Granta Books.
- (no date) Free to Choose: Part 1 of 10 The Power of the Market (Featuring Milton Friedman) - YouTube.
- Otto Wagner. (1988) Modern architecture: a guidebook for his students to this field of art, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Orwell, George. (1994) 'Politics and the English language', in The Penguin essays of George Orwell, New York: Penguin. vol. Penguin twentieth-century classics
- Oscar Wilde. (2001) 'The Soul of Man under Socialism', in Soul Of Man Under Socialism And Selected Critical Prose, London: Penguin Books Ltd., pp.125-162
- Solanas, Valerie; Ronell, Avital. (2015) SCUM manifesto, London: Verso.
- Tom Hodgkinson. (2005) How to be idle, London: Penguin.
- Weeds Are Us « Michael Pollan, https://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/weeds-are-us/
- Aimé Césaire; Robin D. G. Kelley. (2000) Discourse on colonialism, New York: Monthly Review Press.
- Orwell, George. (2000) 'Appendix: the principles of newspeak', in Nineteen eighty-four, London: Penguin. vol. Modern classics
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich; Stedman Jones, Gareth. (2002) The communist manifesto, London: Penguin Books. vol. Penguin classics
- John Hayward. (1934, reprinted 1939) 'A modest proposal', in Gulliver's travels and selected writings in prose & verse, London: Random House.
- Manifesto of the Communist Party, https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/
- Kincaid, Jamaica. (1997) A small place, London: Vintage.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course. The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students. Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Assignment 1 (Autumn) (2500 words) |
|
100% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Matthew Burch, email: mburch@essex.ac.uk.
A range of staff will contribute to the module.
Interdisciplinary Studies Centre General Office - 6.130; Email: istudies@essex.ac.uk.
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Ross Wilson
University of Nottingham
Director of Liberal Arts
Available via Moodle
Of 998 hours, 0 (0%) hours available to students:
996 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
2 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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