ENG5542 - Literary Period: the Renaissance

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Read, interpret and discuss Renaissance texts, including style and content
Demonstrate awareness of the cultural and historical contexts
Demonstrate awareness of the forms and genres employed by Renaissance writers
Demonstrate understanding of relevant scholarly material such as recent critical debate, critical theory, and the history of criticism

Content:

Students will be directed to study a selection of drama and poetry of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 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 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, they will be encouraged to reflect upon the nature of reading itself.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Learning and teaching methods will combine text-based lectures / seminars with discussion and directed reading and writing, supported by Moodle and use of audio-visual resources. Discussion will be a key element throughout the module.

Plenaries / seminars
Contact hours: 32
Intended Group size: 35

Guided independent study
Hours: 168

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 onto the more conceptual and critical material emphasised in the second part of the module.

Other relevant matters 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.