Program Overview

Course Overview

The course LCCM 271, Literature and Journalism, explores the relationship between English literature and journalism from the 18th to the 21st century. It considers questions of fact and fiction, objectivity, and style, across a range of genres. Students have the opportunity to produce creative work as part of the assessment.

Course Details

• Dates: 24 February 2025 to 22 June 2025
• Starts: Trimester 1
• Fees:
  • NZ$1,176.00 for domestic students
  • NZ$5,560.00 for international students
• Lecture Start Times: Monday, 3.10pm
• Campus: Kelburn
• Estimated Workload: Approximately 200 hours or 11.8 hours per week for 17 weeks
• Points: 20

Entry Restrictions

• Prerequisites: 40 BC or BA points
• Corequisites: None
• Restrictions: Students who have passed ENGL 248 in 2017-2018 cannot take this course

Course Structure

• School: School of Arts and Media — Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Disclaimer: This course outline may be subject to change

Key Dates

Important dates, including mid-trimester teaching breaks, can be found on the University's key dates calendar. Assessment dates will be announced once the course has begun.

About This Course

This course examines four texts from the 19th to the 21st centuries, using them to explore four key questions:

1. The role of poetry in journalism, news, and current affairs
2. The impact of journalism industry norms on the development of the novel
3. The boundary between fiction and journalism in terms of genre and ethics
4. How contemporary writing navigates the boundaries between poetry, prose, and reporting

Course Learning Objectives

Students who pass this course should be able to:

1. Read, analyse, produce, and interpret literary journalism texts
2. Discuss the relationship between English literature and journalism in any given period
3. Identify and analyse key elements of the assigned texts
4. Identify and analyse the key stylistic features of texts from different historical periods

How This Course is Taught

• Lectures: One lecture per week, designed as in-person learning environments with no synchronous Zoom option. Lecture recordings are provided as an additional study aid.
• Workshops: One 2-hour workshop every week, starting in week 2, with mandatory attendance for at least 6 workshops
• Assessment: Submitted online

Assessment

• Critical Essay or Poem + Critical Essay (1500 words): 35%
• Short Exercise on Seriality (1000 words): 20%
• Critical or Creative Essay (2000 words): 45%

Mandatory Requirements

To pass this course, students must:

1. Achieve an overall pass mark of at least 50%
2. Achieve a grade of at least 25% for every assessment
3. Participate in at least 6 out of the 9 workshops

Lecture Times and Rooms

• 24 February 2025 to 13 April 2025
• 28 April 2025 to 1 June 2025

What You'll Need to Get

No specific texts or equipment are required for this course.

Course Coordinator

Professor Nikki Hessell