UNIVERSITY OF KENT
Confirmation that this version of the module specification has been approved by the School
Learning and Teaching Committee:
Jennie Batchelor 1/12/14………………………………………………….(date)
MODULE SPECIFICATION
1.
Title of the module
The New Woman: 1880-1920 (EN713)
2.
School or partner institution which will be responsible for management of the
module
English
3.
Start date of the module
September 2015
4.
The number of students expected to take the module
30
5.
Modules to be withdrawn on the introduction of this proposed module and
consultation with other relevant Schools and Faculties regarding the withdrawal
n/a
6.
The level of the module (e.g. Certificate [C], Intermediate [I], Honours [H] or
Postgraduate [M])
H
7.
The number of credits and the ECTS value which the module represents
30 (15 ECTS)
8.
Which term(s) the module is to be taught in (or other teaching pattern)
Autumn or Spring Term
9.
Prerequisite and co-requisite modules
None
10. The programmes of study to which the module contributes
BA in: English and American Literature; English, American and Postcolonial Literatures;
English and American Literature with Creative Writing.
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11. The intended subject specific learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students will have acquired:
11.1 Detailed knowledge of New Woman literature as an identifiable sub-genre of
literature chiefly in novels and short stories but also evident in journalism and
drama in the period 1880-1920.
11.2 Knowledge of the social, cultural and political contexts in which the New
Woman phenomenon emerged, focusing on Britain in the period 1880-1920,
but with an awareness of the global spread of this phenomenon.
11.3 A conceptual understanding of how New Woman literature deployed or
adapted conventions of literature drawn from realism, decadence and
modernism.
11.4 Enhanced understanding of how the New Woman phenomenon has been
rediscovered and examined in current literary criticism and cultural history,
from the 1990s to the present.
11.5
Enhanced knowledge of the writing careers and the publication history of the authors
studied.
12. The intended generic learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
12.1 Apply the methods, techniques and terminology of close reading to a range of
literary texts in different genres.
12.2 Apply understandings of historical context to the interpretation of literary texts.
12.3 Undertake self-directed research and critically evaluate secondary theoretical
or historical perspectives in that research.
12.4 Construct coherent, articulate and well-supported arguments both in oral
presentations and written work.
13. A synopsis of the curriculum
The New Woman, a controversial figure who became prominent in British literature in the
late nineteenth century, challenged traditional views of femininity and represented a
more radical understanding of women’s nature and role in society. She was associated
with a range of unconventional behaviour – from smoking and bicycle-riding to sexuality
outside marriage and political activism. This module will examine some of the key literary
texts identified with the New Woman phenomenon including women’s journalism in the
period. The module’s reading will be organised around central thematic concerns such
as: sexuality and motherhood; suffrage and politics; career and creativity. We will
consider to what extent the New Woman was a media construction or whether the term
reflected the lives of progressive women in the period. This module will also examine
how the New Woman became a global phenomenon, beginning with the plays of Henrik
Ibsen, before spreading to literature produced around the world by writers from Britain
(Mona Caird, Amy Levy, Evelyn Sharp) America (Charlotte Perkins Gilman), Australia
(George Egerton), and New Zealand (Katherine Mansfield). The module will also
consider the legacy of the New Woman into the early modernist period, through studying
Virginia Woolf’s novel that depicts the suffrage movement, Night and Day.
14. Indicative Reading List
Primary Texts:
Caird, M. (1989) The Daughters of Danaus. New York: CUNY Press.
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Ibsen, H. (2003) A Doll’s House and Other Plays. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Levy, A. (2006) The Romance of a Shop. Peterborough, ON.: Broadview.
Showalter, E. (ed.) (1993) Daughters of Decadence: Women Writers of the Fin de Siècle.
London: Virago.
Votes for Women and The Freewoman (suffragette newspapers available free online)
Woolf, V. (2009) Night and Day. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Secondary Texts:
Heilman, A. (2000) New Woman Fiction: Women Writing First-Wave Feminism.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Parkins, W. (2009) Mobility and Modernity in British Women’s Novels, 1850s-1930s:
Women Moving Dangerously. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
15. Learning and Teaching Methods, including the nature and number of contact hours
and the total study hours which will be expected of students, and how these relate to
achievement of the intended module learning outcomes
Over the term, this module will be taught as follows:
 10 x 2 hour seminars
 10 x 1 hour lectures and / or essay-writing and research skills workshops
 Independent learning hours expected of each student (including reading, research,
private study, assessment work) = 270
 Total number of study hours = 300.
Achievement of module learning outcomes:
 Lectures, seminar discussions (with suggested further reading and discussion topics
provided), personal research, seminar presentations, essays and private study will
ensure that the subject specific learning outcomes are met (11.1-5).
 Seminar exercises on close-reading and a requirement that essays show evidence of
close reading will address generic learning outcome 12.1.
 Essay instructions will require that essays address issues of historical context to the
interpretation of literary texts will address generic learning outcome 12.2.
 Essay instructions that require students to undertake secondary research (and show
evidence of this in their essays) will address generic learning outcome 12.3.
 Essays and the required seminar presentation will address the generic learning outcome
12.4 regarding skills in oral and written presentations.
16. Assessment methods and how these relate to testing achievement of the intended
module learning outcomes
The module will be assessed on the basis of two evenly-weighted essays (2000
words each), accounting for 80% of the module’s mark. These essays will require
students to demonstrate detailed knowledge of New Woman texts and contexts (11.1
11.2, 11.5, 12.2), evidence of close reading from selections of literary texts (12.1), as
well as supporting secondary research (11.4, 12.3), and to organize their essays
around a coherent argument (12.4).
There will be a small research project (1000 words), accounting for 10% of the
module’s mark. Students will be required to undertake self-directed research (in line
with 12.3) in order to submit an overview of either a key New Woman writer or a
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specific issue or campaign identified with the New Woman in the period 1880-1920
(in line with module specific learning outcomes 11.5, 11.1, 11.2).
The remaining 10% will derive from a seminar participation mark covering the
students’ contribution to seminar discussions across the term (generic learning
outcomes 12.4, 12.1 and 12.2). The provision of suggested topics for discussion and
further reading will guide the students’ preparation for each seminar, contributing to
the acquisition of specialist knowledge regarding the New Woman phenomenon and
its historical context (specific learning outcomes 11.1-5).
17. Implications for learning resources, including staff, library, IT and space
Standard seminar/lecture rooms with audio-visual equipment. Much of the critical
material is held in the library but some additional primary and secondary texts will need
to be purchased.
18. The School recognises and has embedded the expectations of current disability
equality legislation, and supports students with a declared disability or special
educational need in its teaching. Within this module we will make reasonable
adjustments wherever necessary, including additional or substitute materials,
teaching modes or assessment methods for students who have declared and
discussed their learning support needs. Arrangements for students with declared
disabilities will be made on an individual basis, in consultation with the University’s
disability/dyslexia support service, and specialist support will be provided where
needed.
19. Campus(es) or Centre(s) where module will be delivered:
Canterbury
If the module is part of a programme in a Partner College or Validated Institution, please
complete sections 20 and 21. If the module is not part of a programme in a Partner
College or Validated Institution these sections can be deleted.
20. Partner College/Validated Institution: None
21. University School responsible for the programme: English
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