The Romantic Period

Summary module description:
The module will provide a broad introduction to the varied literary culture of the Romantic period in Britain by examining a diverse group of texts written between 1750 and 1850.

Aims:
The module will give students a clear sense of how the Romantic period fits into the longer history of English literature, attending both to the most well-known writers of the time and also to some who are less familiar. It will focus on the historical period between the French Revolution (1789) and the Great Reform Act (1832), drawing out themes that are relevant to the literature, but will also look back to the eighteenth century and forward to the early Victorian period. Attention will be paid to the idea of Romanticism as a movement, and this will be differentiated from the period as a whole. Literature from a wide variety of genres will be introduced including some or all of the following: the ballad, the Gothic novel, autobiographical poetry and prose, the conversation poem, the epistolary novel, the ode and the essay. Themes may include nature, the sublime, the confession, the city, addiction, slavery, political reform, the parody, Scottish Romanticism, the supernatural, dreams, religion, the ancient world and childhood.

Assessable learning outcomes:
Students will be expected to have achieved the following outcomes:

? an understanding of how the Romantic period fits into the longer history of British literary culture
? an ability to identify key themes and genres from the Romantic period and to write critically about them
? an understanding of the key historical events of the period and how these have an impact upon the writing produced
? a recognition of the difference between Romanticism and the wider Romantic period
? an understanding of how the literature of earlier and later periods influences or is influenced by the Romantic period.

Additional outcomes:
Oral and written communication skills will be developed, together with critical, interpretative and analytical abilities. Students will also enhance their IT competence through the use of relevant web resources in a critically informed manner

Outline content:
Authors to be studied will be drawn from the following: Jane Austen, William Blake, Emily Brontë, Lord Byron, John Clare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Thomas De Quincey, Oliver Goldsmith, Thomas Gray, William Hazlitt, James Hogg, John Keats, Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Tobias Smollett, William Wordsworth.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
A combination of lectures and structured seminar discussion, for which students are required to do preparatory reading. Students are also entitled to a half-hour tutorial on their formative essay. With the consent of the module convenor, students may also undertake a placement, through which they will learn how to apply the knowledge and skills gained in studying for this module in a professional context outside the University.

Summative Assessment Methods:
Written exam 67%
Written assignment including essay 33%

Other information on summative assessment:
Formative assessment methods:
Students write one formative essay, of approximately 1500 words. Feedback will also be provided on the assessed essay of 1800-2000 words, or the equivalent placement report. Feedback on written exams will be available on request from the Director of Teaching and Learning.

Penalties for late submission:
The Module Convener will apply the following penalties for work submitted late, in accordance with the University policy.
where the piece of work is submitted up to one calendar week after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for the piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;
where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/qualitysupport/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Requirements for a pass:
A mark of at least 40% overall.