ENG5542 - Blood, Magic and Travel: Shakespearean Drama

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a range of drama from the Shakespearean period, set in national and international locations.
Identify and analyse forms, genres, and literary and poetic techniques employed in Shakespearean drama.
Critically evaluate examples of Shakespearean drama in terms of relevant cultural, historical and literary contexts, including constructs of nation and identity.
Investigate a research question focusing on Shakespearean drama using appropriate scholarly resources and critical and theoretical frameworks.
Synthesise their own analysis and argument with scholarly research focusing on Shakespearean drama in a written essay.

Content:

Students will be directed to study a selection of drama of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They may find themselves in places as far apart as Judaea, Venice, Australia, or a lost island in the middle of the Mediterranean. Topics will range from intimate relationships to the political stage. Teaching sessions will involve close textual analysis, the study of the cultural context, and debates around theoretical and interpretative issues such as performance, twentieth-century theory, the history of criticism, and questions of canonicity and literary value. Audio-visual material will be included as appropriate. Consideration of genre, gender, nationalities and theory will be an integral part of the module. Students will gain insight into the richness and variety of the texts produced in this period; the cultural and historical conditions of the period; and current cultural assumptions about the period. Furthermore, students will be encouraged to reflect upon the nature of reading itself.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Learning and teaching methods will combine text-based workshops alternating plenaries with smaller-group seminars focusing on discussion and directed reading and writing, supported by Moodle and use of audio-visual resources. An independent learning week is built into the middle of the module to enable students to complete reading and reflection in advance of the material delivered in the second part of the module. This later material builds on and extends the complexity of the work done in preparation for the online task. The online task helps the students practise their analytical skills as well as demonstrate their knowledge in preparation for the assessed essay.

Plenaries / seminars
Contact hours: 27
Intended Group size: 60/30

Guided independent study
Hours: 173

Further details relating to assessment
The online task focuses on the knowledge of texts gained during the first part of the module, and through a mixture of questions and passage analysis, the students demonstrate their readiness to move on to the more conceptual and critical material emphasised in the second part of the module.

Assessment:

001 Online task; 2,000 word equiv; mid-semester 2 50%
002 Portfolio; 2,000 words; end of semester 2 50%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Amina Alyal
Level - 5
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 5S2

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