Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH The Work of Giants: Old English Tales and their Afterlives in Fiction and Film
School	Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department	English Literature
Module Code	09 37091
Module Lead	Megan Cavell
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	Even the most authentic historical fiction tells us as much about contemporary tastes as it does the past worlds it seeks to portray. Many novels, films and television series about early medieval England, for example, highlight the dirty, gritty, and ultimately violent lives of everyone from peasants toiling in the fields to aristocrats amassing wealth, in order to explore taboo topics safely within the confines of the past. But there was more to that world than bulked up warriors going berserk in battle. This module will unpack contemporary culture’s engagement with the early medieval world, using historical fiction, adaptations, film and television as a way into the past. Novels like Nicola Griffith’s Hild and Maria Dahvana Headley’s The Mere Wife will allow us to investigate gender, sexuality and power. Alongside a graphic novelisation of Beowulf, films/television shows like The 13th Warrior and The Last Kingdom will allow us to explore different types of heroism, cultural relations and constructions of race. These and other contemporary texts will be paired with Old English texts in translation, allowing students to study the literature of the period alongside its afterlives. Together, we will piece together the fallen monuments – the work of giants or, in Old English, ‘enta geweorc’ – of this past culture. There will be in-class opportunities for engaging with Old English literature in the original, but students will not be expected to learn the language comprehensively or be assessed on translation. Assignments will engage students’ creativity, with blog posts, creative adaptations and critical reflections displacing the traditional essay.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of aspects of Old English language and literary production; Analyse and reflect on the cultural history of early medieval England and its reception in popular culture; Demonstrate an understanding of and an ability to critically reflect on the process and/or theory of creative adaptation; Demonstrate creative and imaginative engagement with Old English literature and culture.
Assessment	37091-01 : Portfolio 4,000 Words : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Portfolio of work totalling 3,500 words (100%) Reassessment: Resubmission of failed component(s)
Other
Reading List