ENGLISH 114 : Journeys: Travel Narratives In Global Literatures

Arts

2025 Semester One (1253) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Examines texts from around the world, composed across three millennia, that explore travelling as a means of discovering the self and the other. What does travelling mean in broader cultural, social, and political contexts? Students will encounter literatures from around the world in a range of genres, and will be exposed to different disciplinary approaches to textual analysis.

Course Overview

Using the idea of ‘journeys’—whether literal, spiritual, or psychological—as an organising principle, we will engage closely with a small number of travel narratives from different traditions to expose students to the rich diversity of meanings that journeys, exploration, and travelling have taken on within and across cultures. The first time the course is offered we will teach the following works, but the paper is intended to be modular and other texts will be cycled through in the future:
Module One: The Ancient World and Encounters with Otherness: Homer’s Odyssey
Module Two: A Spiritual Journey in the Middle Ages: Dante's Inferno
Module Three: The European Enlightenment: Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther
Module Four: Cultural Encounters in the Modern Age: Paula Morris, Rangitoto
This course will serve English majors and other interested students (e.g. those planning to major in a discipline within CLL) as an introduction to University-level study of literary texts, drawing from different disciplinary strategies and reading techniques. It should prepare students for all higher-level courses demanding close reading skills and the ability to analyse creative works within an historical and cultural tradition.

Course Requirements

No pre-requisites or restrictions

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: People and Place
Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 7: Collaboration
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Arts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Learn how to read and enjoy complex written works from different cultural traditions and in different genres (Capability 1, 3 and 4)
  2. Become familiar with major trends and movements in travel literature from antiquity to present (Capability 3)
  3. Learn strategies for close reading and analysis of texts (Capability 3 and 4)
  4. Make written and oral arguments about literature (Capability 3, 4 and 5)
  5. Apply critical and problem-solving skills to cooperative group work (Capability 4, 5, 6 and 7)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Final Exam 35% Individual Examination
Coursework 65% Group & Individual Coursework

Next Offered

2026, Semester One

Teaching & Learning Methods

Lecture, discussion, in-class exercises, small group work

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 2 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial, 7-8  hours of reading and thinking about the content and 2-3 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities including tutorials to receive credit for components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including seminars and tutorials will not be available as recordings.
The course will not]include live online events including [group discussions/tutorials].
Attendance on campus is required for the test and exam.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

This course is not available for delivery to students studying remotely outside NZ.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

There will be four compulsory (required) texts, one of which may be read online; the others have to be purchased in hard copy.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

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Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

Gen AI tools, including translation software, may be used ONLY when specified by the instructor; any unauthorised use of Gen AI in preparing assessments will be treated as a breach of academic integrity.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 30/10/2024 04:20 p.m.