ENMENL-Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Literature

Module Provider: English Literature
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:7
Terms in which taught: Autumn term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2020/1

Email: j.m.scholar@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

In this module we explore literature from the eighteenth century to the fin de siècle. Our texts are loosely themed around the geographical location of the University of Reading, especially the Thames, the longest English river, and the Thames Valley. This theme allows us to think about relationships between the local and the global – in historical, cultural and psychological terms. You will be taught by a variety of members of the Department of English Literature, encouraging a range of interests and critical approaches. Texts and topics will be set in such a way as to open up possible areas of further study not only in Spring Term options, but also in the Dissertation, and beyond.

Aims:

This module aims to help you to identify and develop your own interests in the literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Through a wide range of primary and secondary texts, seminars will introduce you to questions of form and genre relevant to the period, as well as to political and social issues, such as globalisation, freedom of movement, and imperialism.

Assessable learning outcomes:

By the end of the module it is expected that the student will be able to:

• Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the selected eighteenth and nineteenth-century texts


• Formulate questions and interpret texts within their critical contexts


• Engage questioningly with critical and theoretical texts


• Conduct and demonstrate independent thought and research in the selection and analysis of texts


• Synt hesise a written argument, locating analysis of particular texts in a broader theoretical and contextual setting

Additional outcomes:

The module will encourage students to develop their oral communication skills through discussions in seminars, to think critically both within and across disciplines, and to interrogate their own assumptions and arguments, as well as those of others including their peers and seminar leaders.

Outline content:

Our texts trace both a geographical and chronological stream. They are loosely themed around the river Thames which flows through Reading (having passed through Oxford), and on to London and beyond. The texts begin in the eighteenth century and reach, by the second half of term, the nineteenth century. This allows us, among other things, to discuss the formal and thematic evolution of literature from the early novel and Augustan satire, through romanticism, and into realism, and at the same t ime to question these generic and chronological commonplaces. Topics addressed may include prose and verse genres, globalization, imperialism, gender, narrative form, and philosophy and literature. The syllabus for any given year will be decided in advance by the teaching team. An indicative list of authors studied might include Daniel Defoe, Olaudah Equiano, Maria Edgeworth, Mary Russell Mitford, Mary Shelley, George Eliot, and Henry James.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

Contact time will take the form of ten weekly seminars, each two hours long. Each seminar will involve discussion of texts or other materials set and prepared in advance. The seminars will be taught by a number of different members of the English department, working as a team to combine their individual expertise so as to provide students with a wider range of materials and approaches. The convenor will be available for consultation on a one-to-one basis to discuss students’ work and pr ogress on the module as a whole.

Summative assessment- Examinations:

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

Students will produce a 4,000-word essay on one or more of the set texts. The specific essay question or title will be determined by the student in consultation with the module convenor.

Formative assessment methods:

Penalties for late submission:
Penalties for late submission on this module are in accordance with the University policy. Please refer to page 5 of the Postgraduate Guide to Assessment for further information: http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/exams/student/exa-guidePG.aspx

Assessment requirements for a pass:

A mark of at least 40%.

Reassessment arrangements:

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

Required text books £30

Last updated: 4 April 2020