GG35820 - GEOGRAPHY AND BRITISH LITERATURE 1500

Module Identifier	GG35820
Module Title	GEOGRAPHY AND BRITISH LITERATURE 1500 - 1800
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Dr Robert Mayhew
Semester	Semester 2
Course delivery	Lecture	20 hours of lectures and discussions in a 10 x 2 hour timetable slot.
Assessment	Essay	Research essay of 2,500 words on a prescribed topic.	50%
	Exam	2 Hours answer 2 questions	50%
	Resit assessment	same format

Module outline

The period from 1500 to 1800 saw seminal changes in the geography of Britain. Britain itself was forged out of the multiple kingdoms of England, Scotland and Wales. Within that nation, massive changes were effected in towns and countryside by industrialisation, population growth and other social and economic forces. Beyond the nation, an empire was built by the British in North America, India and later in Africa, all this occurring in the face of opposition from both indigenous peoples and rival imperialist powers. This course looks at the ways in which these massive shifts in the geography of Britain were reflected in English literature, broadly conceived to include not only novels and poetry, but also essays, travel accounts and other tracts. In this course, we will see how Britian was conceptualised at the time of its construction and how the British saw their European neighbours and the wider world, all this through the eyes of some of the greatest writers the English language has produced: Shakespeare, Milton and Johnson, for example.

Areas covered:

Relations in Britain: images of the Welsh, Scottish, Irish and English in literature
British national identities in literature
Town, country and gardens in English literature
British images of its European rivals
The British Empire and literature
British literature and the wider world
British literary utopias

Module Aims

This module aims to introduce students to the history of geography and geography's interweaving with literature, seeing both as forms of human enquiry.

Module objectives / Learning outcomes

On completion of this module students should :-

have acquired factual knowledge concerning the definition and practice of geography in Europe, c 1500-1800

demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the ways in which geographical concerns in Britain and its empire were expressed in 'literary' genres

have developed the ability to conduct textual analysis and critical explanation of texts

be aware of historiographical and historical debates in geography in particular and the humanities more widely

Reading Lists

Books
Chambers, Douglas. (1996) The Reinvention of the World : English Writing 1650-1750. Arnold ISBN 0-340-58478-5
Colley, Linda. (1992) Britons : Forging the Nation. Yale U.P. ISBN 0-300-05925-6
Hadfield, Andrew. (1998) Literature, Travel and Colonial Writing in the English Renaissance. Oxford U.P. ISBN 0-198-18480-8
Weinbrot, Howard. (1997) Britannia's Issue. Cambridge U.P. ISBN 0-521-32519-6
Williams, Raymond. (1973) The Country and the City. Oxford U.P. ISBN 0-195-19810-7