ENG6522 - Literary Period: 19th Century Literature

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

(1) demonstrate a detailed knowledge of a range of nineteenth century texts;
(2) analyse and discuss texts from the period in terms of their relation to particular social/cultural debates of the period;
(3) analyse and discuss texts from the period in terms of the relation of content to form and literary genre;
(4) write critically and sensitively on topics of their choice, drawing on a wide range of reading and showing awareness of critical debate.

Content:

In Semester 1, students will develop an overview of the period through the study of a range of representative texts, focusing on such topics as: the construction of the self (Selfhood and Society); the quest for humane values in a newly industrial society (The Condition of England); and the Victorian 'tendency to retrospection', a critical examination of Victorian texts that revisit the past.

In Semester 2, students will explore in greater depth issues relating to key tensions in the culture of the period: tensions between growth of self and social expectations ('The Woman Question' - desire and duty); questions arising from the attempt to understand the human-being's place in the universe (Faith and Doubt); later 19C debates generating new understandings of 'modernity' both in public and in private life (Modern Life / Modern Love).

Learning and Teaching Information:

Lectures
Contact hours 24
Number of groups 1

Seminars/Tutorial
Contact hours 24
Number of groups 4

Assessment:

001 Assessed essay 1 x 1250 words 25%
002 Assessed essay 1 x 2500 words 50%
003 Unseen paper 1 x 1 hour 25%


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