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 the Romantic Movement and its long aftermath through a range of noted writers including John Keats, Mary Shelley and Emily Brontë. Their engagement with the social and cultural changes created by the French Revolution produced innovations in fiction, poetry and prose, and helped form much of what we regard as modern experience and ideas. Topics investigated include Romantic concerns with social outsiders and individual freedom; disenchantment with reason and emphasis on the imagination; the re-evaluation of nature and criticism of urban industrialism; and outspoken concern for social justice. The unit considers Romantic and Gothic preoccupations with questions of gender and class power. It also draws attention to and critiques the formative influence of Romantic aesthetics and values on the subsequent decades of the long nineteenth century, on modern literary theory and especially on understandings of the Romantics themselves.

Credit
6 points
Offering
(see Timetable)
AvailabilityLocationMode
Semester 1UWA (Perth)Face to face
Semester 1AlbanyFace to face
Details for undergraduate courses
  • Level 2 option in the English and Literary Studies major sequence
  • Level 2 elective
Outcomes

Students are able to (1) acquire an informed understanding of the literary and cultural change in late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England—one of the seminal periods for the development of English studies; (2) form an historicised understanding of fundamental critical concepts, such as Romanticism, Victorianism and the Gothic, allowing them to recognise and discuss the relationship between the concepts and the literary and cultural practices textually revealed; (3) read and critique a range of discursively complex nineteenth-century British prose and poetry, a skill readily transferable to twenty-first century discourses with their own modern day complexities; (4) acquire a critical understanding of the role played by issues such as gender, equality, natural rights and liberty in literary and cultural texts; (5) express ideas, information and argument coherently and logically in written and oral forms; (6) work effectively as a member of a collaborative group in a tutorial context; (7) enhance research skills in locating and assessing critical writing in traditional and/or digital media; (8) gain a critical understanding of the role played by ideologies of race, gender, and class in literary and cultural contexts; (9) refine and demonstrate highly developed skills of textual analysis and critical reasoning; (10) acquire an historicised understanding of fundamental critical concepts that allow them to recognise and discuss the relationship between the formal, thematic and functional aspects of any text studied; and (11) further develop and practise enquiry-based learning and research and communication acquired at Level 2 into Level 3 units in English and Cultural Studies, with applications across a broader field of study at UWA.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) tutorial participation; (2) a written response to a text; and (3) research essay. 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)
Professor Tanya Dalziell
Unit rules
Prerequisites
any Level 1 English unit
Contact hours
3 hours per teaching week
Note
Students impacted by COVID19 travel restrictions are asked to contact the unit coordinator for online options
  • 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.
  • Unit readings, including any essential textbooks, are listed in the unit outline for each unit, one week prior the commencement of study. The unit outline will be available via the LMS and the UWA Handbook one week prior the commencement of study. Reading lists and essential textbooks are subject to change each semester. Information on essential textbooks will also be made available on the Essential Textbooks. This website is updated regularly in the lead up to semester so content may change. It is recommended that students purchase essential textbooks for convenience due to the frequency with which they will be required during the unit. A limited number of textbooks will be made available from the Library in print and will also be made available online wherever possible. Essential textbooks can be purchased from the commercial vendors to secure the best deal. The Student Guild can provide assistance on where to purchase books if required. Books can be purchased second hand at the Guild Secondhand bookshop (second floor, Guild Village), which is located on campus.
  • 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.