Studying online
There are now 2 possible online modes for units:
Units with modes Online timetabled and Online flexible are available for any student to self-enrol and study online.
Click on an offering mode for more details.
Unit Overview
- Description
This unit explores a range of noted Victorian writers whose work suggests that era's engagement with modernity. This is expressed both through polemical discontent, but also through dreams of the possibility of a new and better world emerging from technological change and scientific achievement. The unit explores a range of Victorian dreams, fantasies and nightmares as responses to modernity, and engages with the expression of anxieties about gender, sexuality, social power, technology and change which emerge from these texts.
As a Level 3 unit, this unit aims to equip students with specialist knowledge of this period of literary history. Students build on their previous studies in the discipline, encountering critical concepts and discourses important to the period, which saw the birth of English as a university discipline. They are encouraged to relate the literary and cultural concerns of this era to those of earlier and later periods they have previously studied. Both written assignments are enquiry-based, requiring independent research, a self-defined topic and the conscious application of formal and historicist reading practices.
- Credit
- 6 points
- Offering
(see Timetable) Availability Location Mode Semester 1 UWA (Perth) Face to face Semester 1 Albany Face to face - Details for undergraduate courses
- Level 3 option in the English and Literary Studies major sequence
- Level 3 elective
- Outcomes
Students are able to (1) acquire an informed understanding of the cultural history of Victorian England, one of the diverse societies in which English has played a major historical role; (2) have an historicised understanding of fundamental critical concepts, such as gothic, realism, and the Bildungsroman, that allow them to recognise and discuss the relationship between the formal, thematic and functional aspects of specific textual practices; (3) be aware of the importance of informing and challenging their independent analyses and ideas with discriminating reading of the imaginative, critical and theoretical literature which the unit recommends; (4) develop a critical understanding of the role played by ideologies concerned with race, industrialism, class and gender in literary, visual and cultural texts; (5) express original arguments, together with research methodologies, approaches and findings, coherently and logically in oral and written formats; and (6) apply, knowingly and appropriately, highly developed skills of textual analysis, critical reasoning, interpretation and research.
- Assessment
Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) critical exercise; (2) research essay; and (3) seminar participation and presentation. Further information is available in the unit outline.
Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Dr Ned Curthoys
- Unit rules
- Prerequisites
- any Level 2 ENGL unit
- Contact hours
- 3 hours per week
- Note
- All lectures for this unit will be pre-recorded and available online via LMS
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Visit the Essential Textbooks website to see if any textbooks are required for this Unit. The website is updated regularly so content may change. Students are recommended to purchase Essential Textbooks, but a limited number of copies of all Essential Textbooks are held in the Library in print, and as an ebook where possible. Recommended readings for the unit can be accessed in Unit Readings directly through the Learning Management System (LMS).
- Contact hours provide an indication of the type and extent of in-class activities this unit may contain. The total amount of student work (including contact hours, assessment time, and self-study) will approximate 150 hours per 6 credit points.
Face to face
Predominantly face-to-face. On campus attendance required to complete this unit. May have accompanying resources online.
Online flexible
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit is asynchronous delivery, with NO requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online timetabled
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit includes some synchronous components, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online Restricted
Not available for self-enrolment. Students access this mode by contacting their student office through AskUWA. 100% Online Unit.
NO campus face-to-face attendance. All study and assessment requirements are online only. Unit includes some timetabled activities, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times. In exceptional cases (noted in the Handbook) students may be required to participate in face-to-face laboratory classes when a return to UWA’s Crawley campus becomes possible in order to be awarded a final grade.
External
No attendance or regular contact is required, and all study requirements are completed either via correspondence and/or online submission.
Off-campus
Regular attendance is not required, but student attends the institution face to face on an agreed schedule for purposes of supervision and/or instruction.
Multi-mode
Multiple modes of delivery. Unit includes a mix of online and on-campus study requirements. On campus attendance for some activities is required to complete this unit.