EN2ERR: Enlightenment, Revolution and Romanticism

Module code: EN2ERR

Module provider: English Literature; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Paddy Bullard, email: p.s.bullard@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Matthew Scott, email: t.m.l.scott@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): Before taking this module, you must have at least 40 credits of EN-coded modules at Part 1 (except for visiting students) (Open)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

On ‘Enlightenment, Revolution and Romanticism’ we will study texts from the age of Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, William Blake and Jonathan Swift. You will learn about an Age of Enlightenment (c.1680-1790), when European philosophers rushed to break the chains of superstition and tyranny. Over the same period the UK became a base for global exploration and imperial expansion. It was the birthplace of modern science, and of the world’s first industrial economy. You will study the political revolutions that shook British society to its core during these years: England’s bloodless ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688; the colonial revolution of American independence; and the French Revolution of 1789. You will also investigate how authors reacted during the Romantic period (c.1790-1830) to what some of them saw as the broken promises of the Enlightenment. They turned instead outward to the sublime natural world, and inward to a shadowy personal realm of childhood vision, supernatural premonitions, and dreams. In their writing they rejected the Enlightenment’s classical culture of reason and artifice for what William Wordsworth called the ‘real language of men’.

Module learning outcomes

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

1. Demonstrate broad, deep, and coherent knowledge of English literature in its principal modes and genres: across poetry, prose, and drama; covering a range of historical periods; and comprehending the regional variety and global reach of the English language
2. Apply discipline-specific practices of close reading, interpretative analysis and critical argument
3. Respond creatively and imaginatively to essay questions and research tasks, for the purpose of devising and sustaining arguments, and of reaching decisive judgments
4. Value personal, social, civic, and global perspectives, looking beyond any immediate task or question to its wider contexts

Module content

Content for ‘Enlightenment, Revolution and Romanticism’ is divided into an introductory week, followed by two sets of 5-week study blocks. The first 5-week block focuses on the eighteenth century (c.1680-1790); the second 5-week block focuses on the Romantic period (c.1790-1830).

For the first block, texts studied may include Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock, Jane Collier’s Art of Ingeniously Tormenting, Oliver Goldsmith’s Deserted Village, and Olaudah Equiano’s Interesting Narrative.

For the second block, texts studied may include William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads, William Wordsworth’s Prelude, John Keats’s poems, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The teaching on ‘Enlightenment, Revolution and Romanticism’ is led by your preparatory reading of a weekly set text, followed by a module-wide one-hour weekly lecture, and a one-hour small-group seminar with structured discussion.  During the lecture and seminar you will explore broader historical and intellectual contexts for the period, as well as working on advanced study, research and assessment skills. The first summative assessment takes place halfway through the semester, after which you are entitled to a half-hour tutorial on your work, to discuss written feedback.

The different learning methods practiced across two weekly contact hours work together coherently, giving you both breadth and depth of insight into the module’s set texts and their backgrounds. With the consent of the module convenor, students may also undertake a placement, through which they will learn how to apply the knowledge and skills gained in studying for this module in a professional context outside the University.

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Feedback will be given on the 7th week exercise, which is designed to have a formative function in helping students prepare for their final coursework exercise.

Reassessment

Additional costs