ENGM5103 - Laboratories of the Spirit': An Introduction to Literature in English and Christian Faith

Objectives:

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

1 demonstrate an advanced, thorough and critical understanding of selected genres of literature in English that explore a Christian faith dimension and are drawn from one or more historical periods;
2 evaluate and apply a range of critical approaches to the interpretation of such literature, demonstrating ability to evaluate aspects of current scholarly debates;
3 analyse in depth the relationship between particular texts and their scriptural sources and historical, cultural and social contexts;
4 demonstrate self-direction and originality in a sophisticated argument (or arguments), using appropriate evidence/illustrations and engaging with contextual and critical literature.

Content:

Students will develop awareness and understanding of the interactions between Christian faith and literary genres (including lyric poetry and the novel) by studying a range of texts from one or more periods of literary history: for example, the following texts from the four periods given below:

• Medieval period – a selection of Old English texts, including The Dream of the Rood and Caedmon’s Hymn; a selection of texts from the ‘Piers Plowman Tradition’; examples of mystical writing: Julian of Norwich and The Book of Margery Kempe
• Seventeenth Century – selected texts which offer the opportunity to explore the connections between faith, literature and politics, such as The Pilgrim’s Progress and the poetry of George Herbert, John Donne, Henry Vaughan or John Milton
• Nineteenth Century – novels by the Brontes; poems by Browning, Tennyson, Clough and Hopkins.
• Twentieth Century – the fiction of Flannery O’Connor; poems exploring the tensions between faith and doubt by, for example, R. S. Thomas, T. S. Eliot and Seamus Heaney; representations of the life of Christ in twentieth-century literature
• The approach will be both historical and thematic, and alert to connections both with the scriptures and with the wider Christian tradition of beliefs, devotional practices and community life.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Seminars will make use of a number of learning and teaching methods including: short presentations by tutor; exercises in groups; informal presentations by students; plenary discussions.

seminars
Contact hours: 20
Intended Group size: 1

Individual Tutorials
Contact hours: 20 minutes

Additional assessment information
Students will normally be required to submit 2 x 2,500 words for assessment. Assessment by 1 x 5,000-word essay will normally only be permitted to students taking this module as an alternative option module on the MA Victorian Studies programme; and will be subject to approval by the Module Co-ordinator and the relevant Director of Programme.

Assessment: