Course module - Mapping the Medieval
Code : ENGL10051 Credit rating: 20 Semester : 1
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Aims |
Objectives |
Assessment |
Information
|
Course Content |
Course Materials |
Tutors |
Timetable |
Teaching Methods |
Keywords
Aims
- To familiarise students with two key literary genres of the Middle Ages;
- To familiarise students with different literary and contextual themes and frameworks;
- To encourage a critical engagement with the term ‘medieval’ and its contemporary connotations, both in literature and in other media;
- To develop the ability to read and discuss medieval literatures with reference to recent theoretical developments in the field;
- To encourage group discussion as well as the development of independent research skills.
Objectives (Learning Outcomes)
By the end of this course, students should:
- Be able to demonstrate a familiarity with two key genres in medieval literature;
- Discuss the texts on the syllabus with an awareness of their cultural and historical contexts;
- Be able to show critical awareness of the current interpretations and versions of 'the medieval' in different media;
- Have an awareness of recent theoretical approaches;
- Be able to formulate a coherent argument;
- Be able to undertake very basic translation from medieval languages.
Assessment
Two 1,250-word essays (25% each); one 2,000-word essay (40%); Blackboard contributions (10%)
Information
THIS COURSE IS AVAILABLE AS FREE CHOICE.
Course Content
This core course is structured around two central, key texts, Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Each is read, initially, in translation, but there will also be consideration of key passages in the original. In the lectures, various approaches to the texts are compared, and there will be considerations of the relevance of history, archaeology, and material culture to the texts.
Course Materials
Tutor(s)
Owen-Crocker, Professor Gale
Timetable
PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE FOR 2013-2014
Lecture: Tuesday, 3.00-5.00
Seminars: T B A
Teaching Methods
One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week.
Preliminary reading
Michael Swanton, ed. and trans. Beowulf. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997.
James Winny, ed. and trans. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Broadview Literary Texts, 1992
Recommended: A Companion to the Gawain Poet, ed. by Derek Brewer and Jonathan Gibson (D.S. Brewer, 1997)
Recommended: A Beowulf Handbook, ed. by Robert E. Bjork and John D. Niles (Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies, 1997)