The Age of Adolescence: Reading 20th Century Youth Culture (Q3287E)
15 credits, Level 4
Spring teaching
This module will explore representations of adolescence from the early 20th through to the early 21st century in theory, literature, film and popular culture. You’ll 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.
You’ll consider the adolescent as a site of cultural fantasy and cultural fears in relation to:
- class
- race
- gender
- sexuality.
You’ll also look at the adolescent’s relationship to:
- radical politics
- subculture
- utopia
- nostalgia.
You’ll use representations of the adolescent as a modern constructed identity to learn the skill of close reading and historical contextualisation in texts that range from Willa Cather to Spring Breakers.
We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We鈥檙e planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.
We鈥檒l make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.