Course Details in 2023/24 Session

Module Title	LI Popular Fiction Before the Novel
School	Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department	English Literature
Module Code	09 37896
Module Lead	Emily Wingfield
Level	Intermediate Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This module explores how medieval literary texts, from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales to stories of King Arthur, investigate questions around gender, sexuality and race. Reading works across different genres and styles, by named and anonymous authors, students are introduced to a core set of popular medieval texts, comparing and contrasting their key themes and learning how to read them in their original forms and language. The module will focus on narratives which critically interrogate some of the following constructions: race and racisms; religion and intercultural relationships; femininity, masculinity, desire and power; monstrosity and the grotesque; the environment; and queer identities. Students will explore these narratives within their wider historical and cultural contexts, and understand how they both offer a window onto the medieval world and speak to concerns of our own age.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Demonstrate skills in close reading of early texts and ability to comment on the characteristic literary styles, genres and discourses employed by writers in the medieval period; Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of texts of the medieval period within the appropriate social, material and cultural contexts; Identify and evaluate appropriate critical approaches to the texts studied. Read, analyse and discuss a range of selected medieval fictional texts in Middle English.
Assessment	37896-01 : Portfolio 1,500 Word Assignment : Coursework (40%) 37896-02 : Essay 2000 Word Assignment : Coursework (60%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Portfolio of close readings 1,500 words (40%) Essay 2,000 words (60%) Reassessment: Resubmission of failed component(s)
Other
Reading List