This course aims to introduce students to a range of critical perspectives on spatiality and consider their significance in literary and cultural studies. Students will explore spatial poetics and the ideas and representation of space and place in literary texts from the late eighteenth century to the present day. The course is interdisciplinary by nature, drawing upon theories and practices in cultural geography, sociology, philosophy, cultural and literary studies. Possible topics for discussion include: the country and the city, metropolis and modernity, cosmopolitanism, spaces of power, nature writing, sites of memory, the global and the local. This course will help students understand key theme and issues in the recent ‘spatial turn’ in literary and cultural studies, and enhance their ability to analyse literary texts in their historical, cultural and social contexts.

Continuous Assessment: 100%