This module examines constructions of ‘the girl’ and girlhood in contemporary literary and visual culture. Encompassing a variety of genres – including chick lit, memoir, short stories, graphic novels, verse, television and film – it will consider how and why ‘the girl’ emerged as a powerful new model of female independence and empowerment in the 1990s, as well the ways in which she acts as a more troublesome figure in recent experimental writing. Locating its exploration in the context of popular and theoretical feminist and postfeminist discourses, the module will explore how the figure of ‘the girl’ brings into focus questions about: traditional femininity; time, place and space; sexuality and sexual awakening; family and friendship; social media and self-fashioning; intersectionality; violence and disorder; and the messiness of growing up ‘girl’.

• Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the multiple and complex ways in which the figure of the ‘girl’ has been constructed in contemporary literary and visual culture.
• Demonstrate a critical understanding of some of the key themes and debates that emerge in the set texts.
• Undertake comparative critical readings of the set texts in relation to relevant critical and theoretical contexts.
• Develop and sustain coherent and substantiated arguments about the texts in oral and written discussion.
• Demonstrate research and bibliographic skills in the fields of contemporary women’s writing.

Timetabled sessions include one lecture and one two-hour seminar every week. The lectures will contextualise and offer critical perspectives on the set texts, and draw connections with the wider themes of the module.  They will be supplemented with handouts and slides, which will usually be made available to students on Learning Central at least 24 hours before the session. Seminars will focus on close textual analysis and small-group discussion; students will also have the opportunity to make presentations and/or lead discussion.

Academic and subject-specific skills include: advanced analytical and communication skills; skills in scholarly research and presentation; the ability to present complex and detailed arguments in oral and written form; the ability to distinguish between different modes of literary and visual presentation and demonstrate a sensitivity to the particularities and nuances of language; an ability to participate in debates within literary studies generally and girl studies specifically.

Employability skills include: the ability to synthesise information and negotiate complex ideas; the ability to present clear and informed arguments in a confident and professional manner (in both oral and written form); the ability to work independently and as part of a group; time management and organisational skills.

This module is assessed by one piece of written work of 3200 words.

The module is assessed according to the Marking Criteria set out in the module guide. There are otherwise no academic or competence standards which limit the availability of adjustments or alternative assessments for students with disabilities.

THE POTENTIAL FOR REASSESSMENT IN THIS MODULE:

In accordance with University regulations, students are allowed two attempts at retrieval of any failed essay, for a maximum module mark of 40%.  Resit assessments are held over the summer.

The main reading for this module is in the form of novels, short stories, graphic novels, memoirs and critical essays in books and journals. There will be separate screenings of television programmes and films studied on the module. Clips from television programmes and films related to the set texts will also be shown in lectures and seminars. Students should contact the module leader as soon as possible if they will require readings in an alternative format.

Week 1: Introduction
Who’s that girl?

Weeks 2-3: Material girls
Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones’s Diary (1996)
Lena Dunham, Not that Kind of Girl (2014) and ‘Pilot’ (1.1), Girls (2012)

Week 4: Girls on film
Mean Girls (2004) and Ingrid Goes West (2017)

Weeks 5-6: Graphic girls
Marjani Satrapi, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (2003)
Alison Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2006)

Weeks 7-9: Girl trouble
Ali Smith, The Accidental (2005)
Bernadine Evaristo, Lara (2009)
Deborah Kay Davies, Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful (2009)

Week 10: Girls, girls, girls
Revision and essay workshops

 

ESSENTIAL READING:

Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones’s Diary (1996) (London: Picador, 1997)

Lena Dunham, Not that Kind of Girl (2014) (London: Fourth Estate, 2015)

Marjani Satrapi, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (2003) (London: Jonathan Cape, 2006)

Alison Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2006) (London:  Jonathan Cape, 2006)

Ali Smith, The Accidental (2005) (London: Penguin, 2006)

Bernadine Evaristo, Lara, 2^nd ed, (Tarset: Bloodaxe Books, 2009)

Deborah Kay Davies, Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful (2009) (Cardigan: Parthian, 2018)

ESSENTIAL VIEWING:

‘Pilot’ (1.1), Girls, dir. Lena Dunham (HBO, 2012)

Mean Girls, dir. Mark Waters (Paramount, 2014)

Ingrid Goes West, dir. Matt Spicer (Star Thrower, 2017)

Further information about recommended reading will be provided at the start of the module.