University of Essex

LT137-4-SP-CO:
The First World War in Literature

The details

Year: 2024/25

Department: Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Spring

Level: Undergraduate: Level 4

Status: Current

Start date: Monday 13 January 2025

End date: Friday 21 March 2025

Credits: 15

Last updated: 21 August 2024

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

MLITQ391 Literature

Module description

Some of the most emotional and powerful literature of the 20th century was written by combatants and non-combatants during the First World War. Looking at writings in English and translation, as well as subsequent literary representations of the conflict, we will examine the unseen side of conflict.

In this module you will investigate the lost voices of war, the writings of women and civilians as well as soldiers; you will explore the formation of poetic canons of the First World War; and you will critically analyse images of homecoming, shellshock and memories of war in drama, poetry and narrative.

This module includes material on such topics as war, trauma, and bereavement.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

To explore literary engagements with the First World War in different genres

To analyse ways in which literary texts mediate traumatic events

To examine the process of memory and memorialization

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

Read and analysed one collection of poetry, and studied at least four other texts relating to the First World War.

Produced a critique of an anthology of poetry demonstrating an understanding of canon formation.

Developed arguments concerning the literary representations of the diverse experiences of war.

Developed research skills by means of independent study and bibliographical searches.

Developed IT skills by means of the virtual learning environment, Moodle and developed writing skills.

Module information

Please see Talis for a detailed reading list for this module.

Learning and teaching methods

This module will be delivered via:

A weekly 1-hour lecture and 1-hour seminar.

Bibliography

Tylee, C.M., Turner, E. and Cardinal, A. (1999) War plays by women: an international anthology. London: Routledge. Available at: https://search-ebscohost-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=650949&site=ehost-live&authtype=sso&custid=s9814295.
Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson | Poetry Foundation (no date). Available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/alice-moore-dunbar-nelson.
Das, S. (2013a) ‘Reframing First World War poetry’, in The Cambridge Companion to the Poetry of the First World War. Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-the-poetry-of-the-first-world-war/reframing-first-world-war-poetry-an-introduction/7501BDC144E1A86BA2F3E9B2BF4251E7.
Clapham, M. (1995) The Wordsworth book of First World War poetry. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1027302.
Welcome | First World War Poetry Digital Archive (no date). Available at: https://oxford.omeka.net/s/ww1lit/page/home.
Remarque, E.M. and Murdoch, B. (1996) All quiet on the Western Front. London: Vintage. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/616536.
James Campbell (1999) ‘Combat Gnosticism: The Ideology of First World War Poetry Criticism’, New Literary History, 30, pp. 203–215. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20057530.
The Fly - Katherine Mansfield - Comma Press (no date). Available at: https://commapress.co.uk/resources/the-fly.
Woolf, V., Showalter, E. and McNichol, S. (2000) Mrs Dalloway. London: Penguin. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/347187.
Tate, T. (2013) Modernism, history and the First World War. Second edition. Penrith: Humanities-Ebooks, LLP.
Trudi Tate (2013) ‘Mrs Dalloway and the Armenian Question’, in Modernism, History and the First World War. Second Edition. Humanities-Ebooks, LLP. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/reader.action?docID=3306137&ppg=160.
Sherriff, R.C. (1983) Journey’s end. London: Penguin. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/606571.
Peter Krahé (1999) ‘Robert Graves’s Long Weekend Under Threat: “Recalling War”’, AAA: Arbeiten aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik, 24(2), pp. 217–228. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43020190?seq=1.
Booth, A. (1996) Postcards from the trenches: negotiating the space between modernism and the First World War. New York: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=169670.
Graham Seal (2013) ‘“We’re Here Because We’re Here”: Trench Culture of the Great War’, Folklore, 124(2), pp. 178–199. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43297688?seq=3.

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	Formative: writing exercise	07/02/2025	0%
Coursework	Essay 1 (1,000 words)	21/02/2025	25%
Coursework	Essay 2 (2,000 words)	28/04/2025	55%
Coursework	Reflective Log (submit to FASer)	08/05/2025	15%
Practical	Participation		5%

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

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Prof Katharine Cockin, email: k.m.cockin@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff: Professor Katharine Cockin

Contact details: LiFTS General Office - email liftstt@essex.ac.uk Telephone 01206 872626

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: Yes

Available to Audit: Yes

External examiner

Name: Dr Doug Haynes

Institution: University of Sussex

Academic role: Reader in American Literature and Visual Culture

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 35 hours, 35 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

Further information

Department website: Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies

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Module Directory

LT137-4-SP-CO:The First World War in Literature