Genres in American Literature (T7085)

15 credits, Level 5

Autumn teaching

On this module, you’ll approach American literature from the point of view of genre. Genres offer parameters of expectation through which individual works of literature are encountered.

American literature is shaped by a number of important genres that are often less present, or present in much different ways, in studies of European literature. These include:

  • the jeremiad
  • the sermon
  • the captivity narrative
  • the slave narrative and neo-slave narrative
  • the passing narrative
  • naturalism
  • sentimentalism
  • melodrama
  • the romance
  • religious poetry
  • folk poetry and ballad
  • the blues
  • commercial poetry and jingles
  • confessional poetry
  • field poetics
  • the postmodern encyclopaedic novel
  • pulp genres, such as:
    • detective fiction
    • adventure
    • western
    • science fiction
    • fantasy
    • romance
    • comics.

You’ll acknowledge that this broad scope of literature will offer a historically aware, genre-focused approach to a selected body of literature.

Teaching

33%: Lecture
67%: Seminar

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 30 hours of contact time and about 120 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We鈥檙e planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We鈥檒l make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: