Postgraduate Course: Approaches to Research: Religion and Literature (BIST11029)
Course Outline
| School | School of Divinity |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course is a partner to Approaches to Research in Divinity and Religious Studies, the 10-credit S1 course on research skills for all PG students in the School of Divinity. This 10-credit S2 course is the devolved component for Religion and Literature students in particular. It covers key critical issues, research tools and methods in the field of Religion and Literature, and research proposal workshops for enrolled students. |
| Course description |
Academic Description:
This course is a partner to Approaches to Research in Divinity and Religious Studies, the 10-credit S1 course on research skills for all PG students in the School of Divinity. This 10-credit S2 course is the devolved component for Religion and Literature students in particular. It covers key critical issues, research tools and methods in the field of Religion and Literature, and research proposal workshops for enrolled students.
Syllabus/Outline Content:
The course will provide full preparation for embarking on the dissertation component of the MTh/MSc, including: guidance on resources in the field, how to choose a suitable topic and refine the focus, how to deliver an oral proposal, how to write a research proposal, and the various skills required for researching and planning such a major project in Religion and Literature. The course culminates with each student delivering an oral presentation (assessed) of their proposal, and submitting a written version of their proposal.
Student Learning Experience Information:
The course is taught by means of five classes spread through semester two. The first two classes provide an introduction to research in Religion and Literature, and advice on how to prepare for the dissertation. The remaining classes offer students the opportunity to try out their research proposals informally in front of peers and course staff, to help them refine and focus their ideas. The final session of the course is devoted to assessed oral presentations of students' research proposals.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2023/24, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
88 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
60 %,
Practical Exam
40 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
40% - 15 minute oral presentation of the research proposal
60% - Written proposal (2000 words)
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| Feedback |
There will be an opportunity to present an outline research proposal for feedback from the lecturer. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and explain key critical issues in current scholarship in religion and literature.
- Reflect on strategies for planning the research project.
- Develop ideas in discussion with peers, and engage in critical constructive dialogue with their peers' ideas.
- Demonstrate the ability to deliver a dissertation proposal as an oral presentation.
- Demonstrate the ability to gather the above together into a written proposal.
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Reading List
Indicative Bibliography:
David Brauner and Axel Stahler (eds) The Edinburgh Companion to Modern Jewish Fiction (Edinburgh: EUP, 2015).
Robert Detweiller and David Jasper (eds) Religion and Literature: A Reader (Louisville: John Knox Press, 2000).
Mark Eaton, Religion and American Literature Since 1950 (London: Bloomsbury, 2020).
Paul Griffiths, Religious Reading: The Place of Reading in the Practice of Religion (Oxford: OUP, 1999).
Amy Hungerford, Postmodern Belief: American Literature and Religion since 1960 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010).
David Jasper, 'The Study of Literature and Theology', in A. Hass, D. Jasper and E. Jay (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Literature and Theology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 15-30.
David Jasper, The Study of Literature and Religion: An Introduction (2nd ed), (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992).
Mark Knight, An Introduction to Religion and Literature (London: Continuum, 2009).
Mark Knight (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Religion and Literature (London: Routledge, 2016).
Catherine Pesso-Miguel, Burning Books: Interaction and Negotiations of Fundamentalism and Literature (AMS Press, 2012). |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Curiosity for learning and openness to different perspectives
- Willingness to engage across disciplinary boundaries and to approach texts in new ways
- Finely-tuned skills of close reading and critical analysis
- Ability to construct an argument concisely
- Ability to communicate effectively with others, both orally and in writing |
| Keywords | Religion,Literature,research,dissertation |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alison Jack
Tel: (0131 6)50 8944
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Rachel Dutton
Tel: (0131 6)50 7227
Email: |
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