WEA Course Information Sheet 2013-14

Course title:Around the Great War
Course reference: c2416799 / Tutor(s):Dr A.Eckersley
Venue: Wanstead House / Fee: £158 or free on proof of income related benefits
Start date: 2.10.2013 / End date: 19.3.2014 / Day(s)/time(s): Wed 10-12
Number of sessions: 20 / Hours per session: 2 / Level:3
Title of qualification to be gained (if any):
Awarding body (if any):
Essential materials E.g. books and equipment to be provided by the student
See text list below. Poetry texts will be provided by the lecturer, but others must be bought or found through library services.
Course aims:
The overarching aim of the course is to enhance and deepen pleasure and skill in reading texts. Themes for exploration have been chosen through negotiation with ongoing group members; within these large topics we aim to explore a balance of classic and contemporary fiction texts. The central emphasis is on prose fiction, but we also aim to engage with plays, poetry and non-fiction.
Course description: (This is displayed on the WEA website.) Summarise the course and its content in 40 words or fewer.
A century on, we still call it ‘The Great War’ and see it as a time of cataclysmic change. We will explore literature’s part in a great reshaping of thought and feeling, from which new perspectives continue to emerge today.
Any prior knowledge or entry requirements?
None, though an interest in reading would certainly be helpful.
Course content: what topics will the course cover?
We shall read the following texts:
Autumn Term 2013
Erich Remarque: All Quiet on the Western Front
Poems by: Owen, Sassoon, Rosenberg, Mew
May Sinclair The Tree of Heaven
Susan Hill Strange Meeting
Spring Term 2014
Theatre Royal Oh What a Lovely War
Vera Brittain Testament of Youth
J.L.Carr A Month in the Country
Pat Barker Life Class
Teaching, learning and assessment methods: tick those to be used ü
Demonstration / Discussion / X / Group work / X / Individual work / X
Project work / Research / X / Role play / Written work / X
Question and answer / X / Activity outside class time / X / Observation / Practical work
Presentation / Field trip / Other (state)
How will I receive feedback on my learning progress and achievement?
You will sense your progress through increasing confidence in approaching challenging reading material, through your own sense of participation in reading and discussion, and through an increase in knowledge of the period and material we are studying.
Learning outcomes: these are the intended outcomes and may be revised in discussion with the class. Students are encouraged to think about and identify their own individual outcomes.
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. / read prose, plays, and poetry with developing fluency, and with pleasure
2. / make a reflective personal response to particular works of literature
3. / give an account of how particular texts, and details within texts work on current readers and, as appropriate, might have affected original readers/ audiences
4. / relate texts to their cultural and historical background, understanding in ideological terms what was original, what was challenging, and why they may have been successful or influential
5. / relate effects of texts to formal devices and practices
Reading and information sources: Is any reading/preparation essential or desirable?
The only necessary reading is the texts set for reading on the course. You do not need to read these before the course begins. Beyond these texts, however, is a huge field of reading, both fictional and non-fictional, which will be of great relevance. Bring your own experience as a reader, share with others.
Suggestions for progression to further study or for using the skills and knowledge gained:
No level of discussion or analysis is prescribed; nonetheless the kind of work we undertake in the ‘Creative Reading Group’ would fit students both for study to A level in literature, and for the earlier stages of a degree in this and allied subjects involving textual study.