EN2VIC: Victorian Literature

Module code: EN2VIC

Module provider: English Literature; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Lucy Bending, email: l.v.bending@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Professor Andrew Mangham, email: a.s.mangham@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

The Victorian era is one of great diversity and tension. It is a period when authors began to think about people's place in a world without God; about the workings of the mind; and the role of class and gender in the construction of identity. This module will engage with these, and other ideas, looking at some of the greatest works of Victorian literature. The module will include novels (probably by Dickens and Hardy), poetry (probably Tennyson's In Memoriam, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese) journalism (Thackeray's 'Going to See a Man Hanged'), and plays (probably Leopold David Lewis’ The Bells). The module offers a broad and exciting sweep of different modes of writing, drawing on some well-known and canonical texts, and some texts that are less frequently studied, in an attempt to understand what mattered to the Victorians. 

Module learning outcomes

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

1. Apply discipline-specific practices of close reading, interpretative analysis and critical argument
2. Undertake autonomous learning, enquiry and research within the discipline of English literature, applying their mastery of relevant knowledge, skills and methods
3. Discuss and appraise published research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, within the field of English literature
4. Respond creatively and imaginatively to essay questions and research tasks, for the purpose of devising and sustaining arguments, and of reaching decisive judgments
5. Articulate their own and other people’s ideas concisely, accurately, and clearly.

Module content

Texts may include Dickens’ Oliver Twist, Hardy’s Return of the Native, Tennyson’s In Memoriam, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese, and Leopold David Lewis’s The Bells. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

There will be a mixture of seminar teaching and lectures, with each lecture supporting the text studied in the seminar. 

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.

A short piece that explores ideas that could be used in the assessed essay. 

Reassessment

Additional costs