English and drama

Serial Fictions

Module code: Q3901
Level 6
30 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Workshop
Assessment modes: Portfolio

From the early nineteenth century, fiction was increasing published in series, with audiences waiting for regular episodes monthly or weekly. Serial fictions went on to become a key form within capitalism in the 20th & 21st centuries (with the success of serial comic books and television series). For this module we read two long fictions, which may be two novels, or one novel and one text in another medium. We read both gradually throughout the term, analysing the experience of serial reading. Novels were often illustrated in magazines, or shared pages with news, feature articles and adverts. These framed texts for readers, shifting the text’s relation to diverse topics (which may include but are not limited to: health and care; ; fashion and expression; race, gender and sexuality; conflict and politics). We discuss theories of seriality, exploring how serial publication has shaped fiction (from plot development to capitalist economics), and how serialisation shapes the way as humans we experience and conceptualise time and the historical moment.

Module learning outcomes

• Analyse module texts in relation to their serial forms.
• Undertake primary research into the cultural and/or material contexts of our module texts (might include considering evidence of a text’s publication history and important intertexts or paratexts).
• Understand and evaluate key scholarly texts on seriality, serialisation and/or other aspects of the module texts.
• Reflect on our shared experience of serial reading within the module.
• Identify research topics for assessment, and produce a portfolio of writing.