Popular Fiction and Digital Culture

Module overview

What is the literary and cultural value of fiction written purely to entertain and titillate audiences? In this module, we will use digital methods to explore how we understand and relate to mass market fiction. Using different digital methods and tools, we will critique and create narratives that draw on tropes and themes in popular fiction. Over the course of the semester, we will use a range of disciplinary perspectives on reading, taste, and audiences to interrogate the transformative roles of digital technologies and digital culture(s) on reading and readership.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Use themes, theories and critical standpoints to analyse popular literature.
Select and use appropriate theories and concepts to analyse literary genres.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Identify, discuss, and use digital methods and tools to study texts.
Work independently and collaboratively towards specific project aims.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

The roles popular fiction play in shaping understandings of gender, literacy, and taste.
The ways technology transform the consumption of popular fiction.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods •Seminars Learning activities •Independent study, including reading and writing •Group discussion •Peer appraisal

Study time
Type	Hours
Independent Study	114
Seminar	36
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Bode, K. (2008). Damaged men desiring women: Male bodies in contemporary Australian women's fiction..

Hayles, N. K., & Pressman, J. (2013). Comparative textual media: Transforming the humanities in the postprint era.. U of Minnesota Press..

Johns, A. . (2019). Piracy: The intellectual property wars from Gutenberg to Gates.. University of Chicago Press..

Kelley, B. (2021). Loving fanfiction: exploring the role of emotion in online fandoms.. Routledge..

Jenkins, H. (2012). Textual poachers: Television fans and participatory culture.. Routledge..

Radway, J. A. (2009). Reading the romance: Women, patriarchy, and popular literature.. Univ of North Carolina Press..

Assessment

Assessment strategy

Students will complete two assessments during the course of the semester. These assessments will help them prepare a digital project, which they will analyse and critique in their third (final) assessment. Multiple assessments will ensure students iteratively receive feedback on their project work, have opportunities to develop digital methods and skills, and receive support to manage group work.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Group Assessment	10%
Portfolio of Learning	80%
Group Assessment	10%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Assessment	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Assessment tasks	100%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal