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ENGL 3053 - All the Feelings: Affect and Contemporary Writing

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2025

How - as readers, writers, critics, and thinkers - do we talk about how works of contemporary cultural production make us feel? What does it mean to ascribe to a text (a novel, a poem, a play, a film) the power to move? How do theoretical approaches to emotion and affect help us to understand relations between subjectivity and collective experience, politics and the personal? Students will consider how philosophical, psychological, and political understandings of the way we feel have influenced the engagements of twentieth-century and contemporary writers (amongst others) with the affective experiences and provocations of modern life. Exploring questions of aesthetics, hermeneutics, and ethics, the course invites students to attend to affective states as various as joy, fascination, expectation, nostalgia, boredom, shame, disappointment, and remorse, in a range of primary works including, but not necessarily limited to, fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. We will ask how the formal qualities of texts, broadly understood, afford particular affective responses, and how we might theorise the range of emotions represented in and elicited by such material.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code ENGL 3053
    Course All the Feelings: Affect and Contemporary Writing
    Coordinating Unit English, Creative Writing, and Film
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Prerequisites 9 units of undergraduate study
    Biennial Course Offered in Odd Years
    Assessment Online quizzes, Close reading, Research essay, Participation (online forums)
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Professor Andrew van der Vlies

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1. Demonstrate an ability to engage in critical analysis of the formal qualities of modern and contemporary writing across a number of genres

    2. Demonstrate awareness of contextually appropriate methodologies, theories, and vocabularies for engaging with affect in relation to contemporary literatures

    3. Engage thoughtfully and in a self-reflexive manner with literary and cultural texts from a range of geographical locations

    4. Communicate, orally and in writing, the findings of analysis and research with clarity and precision

    5. Demonstrate communication skills appropriate to career readiness, including use of online learning technologies and peer-group collaboration
    最新糖心Vlog Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    最新糖心Vlog Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)

    Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth

    Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.

    1, 2, 3

    Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving

    Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.

    1, 2, 3, 5

    Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills

    Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.

    4, 5

    Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness

    Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.

    3, 4, 5

    Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency

    Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.

    3, 4

    Attribute 6: 最新糖心Vlogn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency

    Graduates have an understanding of, and respect for, 最新糖心Vlogn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values, culture and knowledge.

    2, 3

    Attribute 7: Digital capabilities

    Graduates are well prepared for living, learning and working in a digital society.

    4, 5

    Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence

    Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.

    2, 3, 4, 5
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Some primary material will need to be acquired by students, either by borrowing from a library, or by sourcing primary texts in person from bookstores or online. A final reading list will be communicated on the MyUni site in due course, but is likely to include the following:

    J. M. Coetzee, Diary of a Bad Year (2006)
    Maggie Nelson, Bluets (2009)
    Claudia Rankine, Citizen (2014)
    Rachel Cusk, Outline (2014)
    Recommended Resources
    Recommended secondary material is likely to include:

    Sigmund Freud, ‘Mourning and Melancholia’ (1917)
    Susan Sontag, ‘Against interpretation’ (1964) 
    Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, with Adam Frank, ‘Shame in the Cybernetic Fold’ (2003)
    Sianne Ngai, Ungly Feelings (2005)
    Sara Ahmed, The Promise of Happiness (2010)
    Lauren Berlant, Cruel Optimism (2011)
    Terence Cave, Thinking with Literature (2016)
    Cathy Park Hong, Minor Feelings (2020)

    Online Learning
    There will be a MyUni / Canvas site, with integrated Course Reading list offering a selection of materials accessible online through the 最新糖心Vlog Library. There will be regular tasks in the online learning environment to support self-directed and classroom learning.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    Lecture (1 hour)
    Seminar (2 hours)
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The standard undergraduate workload for a full-time student is 12 hours per week per 3 unit course.

    Formal learning activities: lecture (1 hour) / seminar (2 hours)
    Recommended preparation: reading of primary material for seminar (6 hours) / reading of secondary material for seminar (2 hours)

    Total preparation: 96 hours
    Total contact: 36 hours
    Assessment preparation: 18 hours

    Total: 150 hours

    Learning Activities Summary

    Lecture Schedule

    Week 1: Affect and the Everyday
    Week 2: Ordinary Forms, Ordinary Feelings
    Week 3: Political Feelings
    Weel 4: Loneliness in the Digital Age
    Week 5: Blue Moods
    Week 6: Grievable Lives and the Colony
    Week 7: All About Love
    Week 8: Affective Citizenship
    Week 9: Anti-Social Feelings
    Week 10: The Promises of Literature
    Week 11: The Promises of Romance
    Week 12: The Promises of the Political

    Lecture and seminar activities weeks 1-12

    4 Quizzes (summative and formative)
    One close reading (formative and summative)
    One final essay (summative)
    Discussion Board participation (formative)

  • Assessment

    The 最新糖心Vlog's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary

    Online quizzes (summative, 10%)
    Close Reading (formative and summative 30%) 
    Research Essay (summative 50%)
    Participation (online forums) (formative and summative 10%)
    Assessment Detail
    Online quizzes
    Students will answer multiple choice questions in an online quiz to test engagement and understanding four times in the semester

    Close Reading
    Students are required to write a 1,500-word close analysis of a text chosen from a number of nominated options (drawn from the course)

    Research Essay
    Students will be required to write an essay of up to 2,500 words (including references), making reference to two or more primary texts studied on the course, in answer to a question chosen from a number of options

    Participation (online forums)
    Students will be required to offer a set number of posts to prompts on MyUni, and to respond to a set number of other students’ posts, during the course of the semester
    Submission

    Quizzes
    Four quizzes will be released on MyUni for completion by a deadline advertised in advance

    Close Reading
    30% of grade
    1,500 words +/- 10% (e.g. 1,350-1,750 words)

    Write a 1,500-word close analysis of ONE of the extracts provided. Identify which extract you have chosen at the top of your document. Do NOT include the entirety of the extract in your document.

    In your analysis, consider both the content and the form of the work, and pay particular attention to how style and substance interact. Identify the affective 最新糖心Vlog at work in the extract, and consider what affective responses the extract elicits in the reader. Consider the feeling of the text, and how this is generated. Address how the extract engages with broader cultural 最新糖心Vlog of feeling and affects, and what this reveals about the role of literature in generating emotional attachment, response, and vocabularies.

    You may want to consider the following:

    Political/historical/cultural context of the piece
    Voice/point of view
    Address to the reader
    Structure
    Rhetorical devices
    Literary/poetic techniques, including but not limited to:
    mood
    tone
    imagery
    diction
    syntax
    rhythm/rhyme
    alliteration/assonance
    any other literary/poetic techniques you think are relevant
    You are required to do your own analysis. While you are welcome to refer to any of Course Readings or other scholarly reseach in your analysis, it is NOT a requirement of the assignment (however if you do, you must cite correctly using MLA 8).

    You are encouraged to read the entire essay that the extracts are taken from, and to briefly contextualise the extract within the broader work in your writing. However, this is not a strict requirement of the assignment, and you may choose to focus primarily on the extract.

    You must propose an argument about how affect is operating in the extract, and how form contributes to the generation of the 'feeling' of the text in your close analysis. You will be assessed on your argument, your analysis, the textual evidence that you provide (e.g. quotations and paraphrasing from the source), your written expression (both accuracy and style), and your engagement with course discussions more broadly.

    Research Essay

    Up to 2,500 words (with a minimum of 2,000 words; includes in-text referencing, does not include Works Cited list)
    50% of semester grade

    Instructions

    Write a research essay of up to 2,500 words (see above for word count parameters) in response to ONE of the essay questions advertised. You must analyse at least two of the primary texts from the course. In your analysis, compare and contrast your chosen texts. Consider both form and content in your argument.

    You must refer to at least six scholarly sources (this can include texts from the Required and Recommended Course Readings). If you choose poetry as one of your texts, you must to refer to at least 3 poems by one poet to count as ‘one text.’ You may not write about the same text you analysed in your Close Reading. Write your essay in formal, academic prose. Do not use subheadings or dot points. Use MLA 8 as your citation system. Please see this Library Guide about AI and writing for information.

    Discussion Board Participation

    Due: throughout the semester (4 posts and 4 responses by the end of the semester)
    Word count: equivalent 1,000 words over the semester (approx. 150-200 words per post, 50-100 words per response)
    10% of semester grade (grades over all 8 posts/responses averaged to one grade for the assignment as a whole)

    There is a thread in the Discussion Board (see ‘Discussions’ tab on MyUni) for the topic each week. The thread will become available on the Monday morning of each week and will close on the Sunday at the end of the week. There will be prompts in each thread to begin a conversation among your peers about the topic for that week.

    Over the semester, you will write 4 responses to the set prompts. You may choose any four weeks you want to write about. Each post you make should be about 150-200 words long. Consider the text under consideration that week, the affect you think is represented in that text, the course readings, the lecture, and anything else you think of relevance. You also must reply to 4 posts by your peers over the semester. Your responses should be about 50-100 words long. (Collectively, all 4 of your posts and all 4 responses should be equivalent to 1,000 words).

    While you must write clearly and appropriately for university study, you may be more casual in these posts than in standard academic writing. Feel free to include personal reflections, although this should not be the bulk of your writing (e.g. don’t review the text for the week!). If you want to explore or examine the affect or text more creatively, feel free to do so. If you want to bring in visuals (screenshots, memes etc) or links to music or articles that are relevant, you are also welcome to do so (provided anything you link is appropriate for university study - nothing explicit or blocked by uni servers, please).

    These discussion board posts are moderated, so please be considered, thoughtful, and generous in your responses – this is an opportunity to learn together and not an opportunity for reductive or aggressive critique. In your responses, you may want to talk about how someone else's post made you change your thinking, or what it prompted you to think about in turn. We are collaboratively extending our learning through these discussions - your responses do not have to always agree with the original poster but you have to be prepared to say why you didn't, and do so in a productive manner
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through .

  • Student Feedback

    The 最新糖心Vlog places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the 最新糖心Vlog to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

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  • Policies & Guidelines
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