UWA Handbook 2024

Unit Overview

Description

This unit examines the literature of the period from 1450 to 1700 in its historical context. It studies representations of the concepts of love and death in the art of the period, scientific writings on the physiology of love and death and textual explorations of these themes by thinkers such as Plato, Ovid, Wyatt, Spenser, Philip and Mary Sidney, Queen Elizabeth I, Marlowe, Lanyer, Donne, Herbert, Milton, Marvell and Shakespeare. The unit examines the ways in which classical sources were revived and creatively utilised in the Renaissance, the concept of creative imitation, the political involvement of writers in affairs of state and religion and other aspects of the period of relevance to the emergence of complex creative synergies in the period.

As a Level 3 unit, this unit offers specialised knowledge and builds sophisticated research skills, critical and comparative analytical ability and skills in oral and written communication. Its aim is to equip students with an in-depth and critical understanding of the field, its theories and practices, with a view to encouraging them to undertake competitive postgraduate research in the field. Successful completion of all facets of assessment in the unit serves students who proceed to honours level and potentially beyond.

Credit

6 points

Details for undergraduate courses

• Level 3 elective

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) have an increased knowledge of the ideas and concepts surrounding love and death in the writing of the Antiquity, the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance; (2) have a broad, rounded view of the most important ideas and works engaging with love and death in the European and English Renaissance; (3) acquire increased knowledge of the social conditions governing life in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; (4) have a more sophisticated appreciation of the origin of philosophical ideas on love, death, society and creativity, and their relevance for our own creative or scholarly work in society today; (5) discuss visual and textual art with greater understanding of how it related to classical, philosophical, theological and literary contexts; (6) have better understanding of the notion of literary genre; (7) understand the 'conversations' between literary conventions of Europe and those governing English writing; (8) develop enhanced knowledge of the Early Modern period in England, as well as of some of the intellectual, historical and cultural contexts that preceded and underpinned its development; (9) gain increased understanding of the work of a number of major writers writing in the period; (10) have better understanding of different contemporary critical approaches to the writing in the early modern period which increases the students' understanding and enjoyment of the primary texts themselves, but also their ability to think critically about other people's critical ideas and to position their own views intelligently in relation to them; (11) have the ability to express original arguments, together with research methodologies, approaches and findings, coherently and logically in oral and written formats; (12) undertake and present research in groups efficiently and creatively, and to offer and respond to feedback appropriately; (13) locate, assess and engage critically with research findings, both individually and in groups; (14) have a demonstrated awareness of the importance of informing and challenging one's independent analyses and ideas with discriminating reading of imaginative, critical and theoretical texts; (15) apply, knowingly and appropriately, highly developed skills of textual analysis, critical reasoning, interpretation and research; (16) interpret texts from a range of cultural genres independently, confidently and appropriately through developed modes of close reading and writing that encourage personal and critically informed engagement and expression; and (17) apply developed skills in independent enquiry-based research, leading towards an informed understanding of, and ethical sensitivity towards, our diverse and globalised world in the context of advanced further studies and/or future career paths.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) tutorial participation; (2) comparative analysis; and (3) a 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)

Dr Ciara Rawnsley

Unit rules

Prerequisites

any Level 2 ENGL unit
or MEMS2001 Classical Traditions and Transformations in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
or EURO2209 Utopias, Imagination and Modernity in European Culture

Incompatibility

ENGL2250 Love and Death in the Renaissance

Contact hours

3 hours per week