Module Information

Module Identifier
EN20720
Module Title
Nineteenth Century Literature
Academic Year
2019/2020
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Other Staff

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture 20 x 1 Hour Lectures
Seminar 10 x 1 Hour Seminars
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment 1 X 2000 WORD ESSAY  to show knowledge of at least one text taught in the first half of the module.  33%
Semester Exam 3 Hours   2 QUESTION EXAM  Question 1 on a single text from Section A; Question 2 to show knowledge of at least two texts.  67%
Supplementary Exam 3 Hours   Resit exam  Resit examination  50%
Supplementary Assessment Resubmit missing or failed 2000 word essay  Resit missing or failed essay  50%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of a range of literary texts from across the Nineteenth Century;

2. Locate texts in appropriate cultural and historical contexts;

3. Articulate a detailed critical analysis of individual texts from the period that shows an understanding of their distinctive qualities;

4. Relate texts from the period either to each other or to a common theme.

Brief description

This module seeks to introduce students to a representative range of writing across the Romantic and Victorian periods. The seminar texts dramatise a number of key social and political issues (the impact of revolution, industrialism, imperialism) and map changing notions of the self, gender, sexuality and identity. The module familiarises students with a range of literary forms: poetry, the novel, periodical literature and the short story.

For each seminar text there will be 2 lectures: one closely focused on the text, and the other locating that text in wider contexts (social, political, biographical, critical, theoretical). Two lectures will also accompany each of the 2 "Introductory" seminars which introduce the 2 periods covered by this module.

Content

Seminars and Lectures
1. Introductory Seminar: Romanticism
Lectures: Module Rationale and Outline & Introduction to Romanticism
2. Wordsworth and Coleridge, Lyrical Ballads
Lectures: Lyrical Ballads (1) & (2)
3. Keats, The Odes, Lamia, Eve of St Agnes, Isabella
Lectures: The Odes & Lamia, Eve of St Agnes, Isabella
4. De Quincey, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Lectures: Romantic Addictions & Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
5. Jane Austen, Persuasion
Lectures: Persuasion (1) & (2)

6. Introductory Seminar: Victorian Writing
Lectures: Victorian Writing (1) & (2)
7. Dickens, Hard Times
Lecture: Hard Times (1) & (2)
8. Tennyson, Maud
Lectures: Maud & Maud and the Dramatic Monologue
9. Various authors and texts, Victorian Women's Poetry
Lectures: Victorian Women's Poetry (1) & (2)
10. Conan Doyle, Selected Sherlock Holmes stories
Lectures: Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes stories & Fin de Siecle: Degeneracy and Writing

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Communication (Written) in essays and examination answers students are encouraged to express their ideas articulately and fluently (Oral) seminars drawn on group discussion and, if the tutor so wishes, brief student presentations
Improving own Learning and Performance Students are encouraged to take more personal initiative in the planning and conduct of their preparation for assignments than at Level 1, and to make use of a broader range of resources; formal feedback on essays and informal feedback on seminar participation help students measure their improvement
Information Technology Substantial use is made of electronic text-databases (EEBO, LION), of electronic journals, and of Blackboard, and students are encouraged to familiarise themselves with these
Personal Development and Career planning Only insofar as the module covers key areas of literature in which students intending to teach English would need to demonstrate competence; or which might be related to future academic research. The module develops transferable analytical skills
Problem solving In essays and examination answers: by formulating and putting into practice a critical approach appropriate to text and topic set
Research skills In preparation for seminars, essays, and exams: by investigation of literary texts, associated critical and scholarly writing, and the relationship of literary texts to historical and cultural contexts
Subject Specific Skills Close reading of literary texts; grasp of generic and intertextual relationships between texts; identification and analysis of appropriate historical and cultural contexts
Team work Informal group work in seminars

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5