Culture and Anarchy in Victorian Britain
| Module title | Culture and Anarchy in Victorian Britain |
|---|---|
| Module code | TRU2911 |
| Academic year | 2019/0 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 16 |
|---|
Module description
This module focuses of the relationship between Victorian writers and their rapidly changing society. It addresses their responses to issues that shaped the period, including urbanisation, the crisis of Doubt, duty, the position of women in society, and the function of art. In addressing these issues, the module will consider its primary texts in relation to the social contexts of their time, paying particular attention to cultural issues such as the relationship between writers and the reading public, the formation of a public mode of address in literature, and censorship and rebellion in the publishing industry.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module will introduce you to the key debates on literature and society in the Victorian period. Through lectures and seminars it will offer you the skills and knowledge to analyse both how literature sought to address a public and responded to the fundamental changes and challenges that faced its society. This module will do this with attention to a range of primary texts (non-fiction prose, novels, poetry, short stories), positioned in a series of appropriate critical contexts designed to advance the your ability to close read the texts with a sophisticated understanding of their significance in relation to their contemporary society, and, by extension, our understanding of that society today.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Describe how literature addressed its society in the Victorian period
- 2. Discuss the link between Victorian writing and the formation of modern society
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Analyse the literature of an earlier era and relate its concerns and its modes of expression to its historical context
- 4. Interrelate texts and discourses specific to their own discipline with issues in the wider context of cultural and intellectual history
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Through seminar work, demonstrate communication skills, and work both individually and in groups
- 6. Through essay-writing, demonstrate appropriate research and bibliographic skills, construct a coherent, substantiated argument, and write clear and correct prose
Syllabus plan
This is an indicate syllabus. Texts and topics covered in this module may include:
- Diagnosing the Victorian: selections from Victorian prose (e.g. Ruskin, Arnold, Pater)
- Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
- Victorian poetry: selection from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Gerard Manley Hopkins
- George Eliot, Scenes of Clerical Life
- George Gissing, short fiction
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | 131 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 5 | Lecture large-group teaching, text-based lecture based on up-to-date scholarship (5 x 1 hour) |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 10 | Seminars small-group teaching, study notes/questions provided in advance. Combination of free discussion, small-group work and/or small-group activities (5 x 2 hours) |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 4 | Workshops small-group teaching involving discussion of specific critical contexts and practical skills (4 x 1 hour) |
| Guided independent study | 131 | Reading, researching, writing, seminar preparation, ELE- and web-based activity, attending office hours with tutor, etc |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay/literature review | 500 words | 1-4, 6 | Written and oral |
| Presentation | 15 minutes | 1-5 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 100 | 2000 words | 1-4, 6 | Written and oral |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay | 1-4, 6 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 22/03/2017 |
| Last revision date | 20/08/2018 |