Module overview
The 1790s was a decade of revolutions abroad and of chaos and state paranoia at home. Britain began its longest continuous war in 1792. In a letter years afterwards to Byron, Percy Shelley declared that the French Revolution was ‘the master theme of the epoch in which we live’. New ways of registering and representing that theme also became evident in that decade, ways which some were later to describe as ‘Romantic’. This module examines the intimate connection between revolution (primarily the French) and some of those new representations in the discursive and fictional prose, poetry, and visual arts of that decade.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the interrelationship of literary production and its wider historical context
- a range of fictional, poetic, and other texts
- make connections between fictional and discursive writings of different genres
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- see why the 1790s were a crucial decade and investigate, research and structure arguments around the particular themes and concerns of a vexed historical epoch
- question whether there are common historical or formal descriptors for the 1790s
- analyse a range of complex written texts and interpret them in the light of their specific contexts
- explain changing approaches to poetry with reference to a particular, vexed historical, political and cultural context
- make connections between literature of different periods and different genres
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- use internet resources effectively as part of historical research
- To write with clarity and conviction
Syllabus
Beginning with the impact of the French Revolution in Britain, we will go on to consider Mary Wollstonecraft's ' Revolution in Female Manners', her father's novel Caleb Williams, and William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads. The actual texts taught will vary from year to year from year to year.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include
- Lectures
- Seminars
- Office hours for individual feedback on essays
Learning activities include
- Office hours for individual feedback on essays
- Experience of organizing and running a seminar
- Individual study and research
- Accessing and evaluating online resources
This module includes a Learning Support Hour. This is a flexible weekly contact hour, designed to support and respond to the particular cohort taking the module from year to year. This hour will include (but not be limited to) activities such as language, theory and research skills classes; group work supervisions; assignment preparation and essay writing guidance; assignment consultations; feedback and feed-forward sessions.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 10 |
| Teaching | 10 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 30 |
| Follow-up work | 20 |
| Completion of assessment task | 70 |
| Seminar | 10 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Internet Resources
British Association for Romantic Studies website.
Textbooks
eds. Jon Mee and David Fallon (2011). Romanticism and Revolution: A Reader. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 35% |
| Essay | 65% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 35% |
| Essay | 65% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External