Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH From Plato to the Postmodern: Theories of Literature and Art
School	Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department	English Literature
Module Code	09 29643
Module Lead	Sebastian Mitchell
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	Any student who took the LI version in their second year (25857) will not be permitted to study this module.
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	The module provides an account of the development of theories of literature and art from the classical period to the modern day. It will consider the range, type and purpose of conceptual approaches to the arts, and examine how those theories have been applied to specific works. The course will also reflect on the social and cultural background of the selected theories, and will examine the relationship between writings on aesthetics from different eras (such as in the reconfiguration of romantic ideology in some theories of the postmodern). Texts to be studied may include: Plato, The Republic, Aristotle, Poetics, Sidney, ‘The Defence of Poesy’, Pope, An Essay on Criticism, Burke, On the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, Kant, Critique of Judgment, Wordsworth, Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Shelley, A Defence of Poetry, Matthew Arnold, Culture and Anarchy, Nietzsche, Birth of Tragedy, Leavis, The Great Tradition, Cixous, ‘Laugh of the Medusa’, Johnson, Critical Difference, Jameson, Postmodernism, and Gilroy, The Black Atlantic.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Demonstrate a good understanding of the range of conceptual approaches to literature and art, and an assured grasp of the relationships between these theories. Develop a clear understanding of the social and cultural circumstances from which these conceptual approaches arose; and how such theories reflect the significant concerns of their age. Apply in an astute fashion these theoretical approaches to specific works of art and literature, and assess their usefulness in illuminating and analysing the works. Demonstrate the ability to engage in independent research.
Assessment	29643-01 : 4,000 word essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessments: 1 x 4000-word essay Reassessment: 1 x 4000-word essay
Other
Reading List