The Age of Adolescence: Reading 20th Century Youth Culture

About

This module will explore representations of adolescence from the early 20th through to the early 21st century in literature, film and popular culture. We will read texts that range across history, psychology, and writings about juvenile delinquency, but our focus will be on reading novels, short stories, films and graphic novels, that represent the paradoxes of adolescence from the turn of the 20th century. This may include such works as: Back to the Future, Ghost World, Spring Breakers, The Hate U Give, and more.

We will look at the ways in which the adolescent morphs into the teenage consumer in the 1950s in novels such as Colin MacInnes’s Absolute Beginners. We will consider the adolescent as a site of cultural fantasy and cultural fears in relation to class, race, gender, and sexuality and the adolescent’s relationship to radical politics, subculture, suburbia, and nostalgia.

If you are interested in literary figures and novels that have pushed boundaries on the representation of adolescence, then this module is for you. This module will provide a theoretical introduction for students wishing to explore a career in film production, youth literature and education sectors. For your assessed portfolio, you can write in a combination of critical and creative ways, depending on your own preferences

On this experiential module, we will explore how Brighton has been central for pushing boundaries and creating new waves in the medium of literature and film. We will develop a deeper understanding of the construction of the categories of the adolescent and the teenagers in literature, film and theory. This module may include a field trip to Brighton, following the trail of cult movie Quadrophenia.

Target group

If you are interested in literary figures and novels that have pushed boundaries on the representation of adolescence, then this module is for you. This module will provide a theoretical introduction for students wishing to explore a career in film production, youth literature and education sectors.

Course aim

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the history of, and an ability to evaluate, 20th-21st century fiction, film and theory

2. Develop an understanding of the construction of the categories of the adolescent and the teenager in literature, film and theory

3. Analyse literature, film, and other discourses, and to dissect rhetoric and understand meanings

4. Develop an argument from close reading and data interpretation.

Fee info

The full cost of one 3-week Undergraduate Summer School session will be £2,645. Early applications will receive a 20% reduction on tuition fees, making the overall cost of one 3-week Undergraduate Summer School session £2320. If you wish to study for both sessions, we welcome you to do so. This is made up of Tuition fees of £1,625 per session including all teaching and assessment for one module of study. Where field trips or course excursions are required then the cost of this is included in the tuition fee, however travel costs may be required. A minimum of 150 study hours, with a minimum of 40 hours class/teaching contact hours. Modules formally approved for 15 Sussex credits, equivalent to 7.5 ECTS or 3 – 4 US credits. You will receive a transcript of studies upon successful completion of the module (including meeting all attendance and assessment requirements). The accommodation and student life programme fee of £1,020 per session includes your own bedroom in on-campus student village. These are a mixture of en-suite flats and standard flats with shared facilities. You will receive a bedding pack of duvet and duvet cover, sheet, towel, pillow, and pillowcase, as well as a kitchen pack containing everything you need for self-catering. The fee includes a programme of campus social events and activities throughout each session. Excursions and social programme trips will also be provided on Fridays.