Studying at York
Writing Worlds: Power, Publishing & Resistance - ENG00148M
- Department: English and Related Literature
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: M
- Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
- See module specification for other years: 2022-23
Module summary
This module explores how international writers, artists and publishers register, diagnose, and resist global power structures—including those which structure the world-literary publishing marketplace—through their creative work. Rather than assuming a fixed relationship between power, literature and publishing, we will explore the complex and changing intersections of creative work and the material, political and social worlds in which it is produced, through a series of case studies. Together we will explore examples from the era of postwar decolonization up to the present, from radical magazines in 1960s India to contemporary calls to decolonize the creative industries. The module will include guest workshops with industry specialists, and students will assess present-day initiatives in relation to a longer, global history of writing, publishing and radical organizing. By tracing the intersections and differences between the examples we study, we will create a variegated picture of ‘publishing and power’ worldwide.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2023-24 |
Module aims
This module aims to develop a global, comparative perspective on questions of publishing and power. By investigating examples of literary and print activism from varied historical moments, it will assess contemporary publishing initiatives in relation to a longer history of creative work. It will stimulate a new perspective on what it means to write and publish in the global literary marketplace today.
Module learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module, you should be able to:
Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with global histories of radical publishing and literary activism
Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with critical debates around world literature, including the relation between literature and the global literary marketplace.
Evaluate key debates within the relevant critical fields dealing with the relations between publishing and power.
Produce independent arguments and ideas which demonstrate an advanced proficiency in critical thinking, research, and writing skills.
Module content
James L. Baughman, Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen and James P. Danky, Protest on the Page: Essays on Print and the Culture of Dissent (2015)
Eric Jon Bulson, Little Magazine, World Form (2016)
Margaret Busby, ed. Daughters of Africa (1992)
Sarah Brouilette, Postcolonial Writers and the Global Literary Marketplace (2007)
Teju Cole, Open City (2011)
Graham Huggan, The Postcolonial Exotic (2001)
Han Kang, trans. Deborah Smith, The Vegetarian (2007)
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
You will receive feedback on all assessed work within the University deadline, and will often receive it more quickly. The purpose of feedback is to inform your future work; it is designed to help you to improve your work, and the Department also offers you help in learning from your feedback. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further you can discuss it with your module tutor, the MA Convenor or your supervisor, during their Open Office Hours.
Indicative reading
James L. Baughman, Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen and James P. Danky, Protest on the Page: Essays on Print and the Culture of Dissent (2015)
Eric Jon Bulson, Little Magazine, World Form (2016)
Margaret Busby, ed. Daughters of Africa (1992)
Sarah Brouilette, Postcolonial Writers and the Global Literary Marketplace (2007)
Teju Cole, Open City (2011)
Graham Huggan, The Postcolonial Exotic (2001)
Han Kang, trans. Deborah Smith, The Vegetarian (2007)