EN3RF: From Romance to Fantasy

Module code: EN3RF

Module provider: English Literature; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Mary Morrissey, email: m.e.morrissey@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: 28 October 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

On this module, we explore the role played by fantastical or wondrous elements in English literature from the Middle Ages to the present day. We consider a range of key narrative structures (such as the quest), persistent motifs such as magical objects, and influential modes, such as the gothic. We study some authors typically associated with fantasy, such as J.R.R. Tolkien, alongside authors less typically associated with this type of writing, such as Shakespeare and Jane Austen. We examine how romance narratives, like the stories of King Arthur, developed in the medieval period and were then revived and reworked in later centuries, and we investigate the reinvention of the Middle Ages in subsequent centuries and consider what ‘medievalism’ tells us about the culture of later literary periods. 

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 over a range of historical periods
2. Apply discipline-specific practices of close reading, interpretative analysis and critical argument
3. Discuss and appraise published research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, within the field of English literature
4. Articulate their own and other people’s ideas concisely, accurately, and clearly

Module content

Texts may include: medieval and renaissance romances (such as Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and Arthurian Romances like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight), examples of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Gothic stories, and twentieth-century fantasy by J. R. R. Tolkien, Ursula Le Guin, and Kazuo Ishiguro.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Weekly lectures will introduce the text and the literary and generic conventions on which we will concentrate. Seminars allow for closer analysis and discussion of the text. Online resources will provide more contextual information about additional information relevant to the set texts.  

Study hours

At least 30 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.

Students will have the opportunity to submit a plan for either essay and receive feedback prior to submission. 

Reassessment

Additional costs