This module is discontinued in the selected year. The information shown below is for the academic year that the module was last running in, prior to the year selected.
2019/20 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
ENGL2027 Eighteenth Century Literature
20 creditsClass Size: 187
School of English
Module manager: Dr Robert Jones
Email: r.w.jones@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2019/20
Pre-requisite qualifications
Grade B at 'A' Level in English Language or Literature or equivalent or an achieved mark of 56 or above in a Level 1 module in English.This module is mutually exclusive with
ENGL2014 | Eighteenth Century Literature |
Module replaces
ENGL2014This module is not approved as a discovery module
Module summary
This module examines one of the most exciting periods of British literary history. The eighteenth century saw the emergence of the novel, while its poetry combined rhetorical sophistication and imaginative exploration. This module investigates the significance of these literary developments, while exploring the ways in which the writing of this period engaged with wider cultural debates. We will trace the evolution of the novel, from Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe to Samuel Richardson's Pamela: works that combine social critique with an intense interest in the formation of cultural, national, and gendered identities. We will also read a selection of poetry, from the satirical to the passionate, as well as exploring theatrical work from the beginning and the end of the century, by William Congreve and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. As a period of relative domestic peace and prosperity, the eighteenth century witnessed the expansion of international commerce and the construction of a proud British identity. While this increasing national confidence was frequently celebrated in the literature of the period, many writers cast a critical eye on the price of progress. This conjunction of optimism and anxiety is reflected in the period’s literature, in which the polite and beautiful jostles with the vulgar and the shocking; sentimental love confronts satiric comedy; and the sublime powers of nature compete with the life of the London street, where dirt and disease thrive.Objectives
On completing this module, students will have had the opportunity to develop their knowledge of and, it is hoped, their critical enthusiasm for, literature 1700-1790, by reading a wide range of texts from the period. During the eighteenth century, the 'literary' was a less restricted category than it later became, and students will be encouraged to reflect on the implications of this by reading fiction, poetry and drama alongside examples from a variety of other genres. Through this reading, through engagement with some of the major debates of the period (such as the relationships between the individual and society/nation, subjective experience and objective value, aesthetics and morality, sentiment and satire), and through written assignments, they will be encouraged to develop their critical vocabulary and analytical skills.Learning outcomes
Skills outcomes and Graduate Attributes
In terms of Academic Excellence this module develops critical thinking, flexibility of thought and analytical skills. It supports and develops the ability to work autonomously, initiative, planning and organisational skills. Students will learn to analyse information, synthesise views and make connections; students will be critically aware of, and be informed by, current knowledge; and will develop research skills. In short:
- Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
- Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
- Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
- Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
- Critical reasoning.
- Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
- IT skills.
- Time management and organisational skills.
- Independent learning.
Skills outcomes
Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
Critical reasoning.
Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
IT skills.
Time management and organisational skills.
Independent learning.
Syllabus
This module examines one of the most exciting periods of British literary history. The eighteenth century saw the emergence of the novel, while its poetry combined rhetorical sophistication and imaginative exploration. This module investigates the significance of these literary developments, while exploring the ways in which the writing of this period engaged with wider cultural debates. We will trace the evolution of the novel, from Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe to Samuel Richardson's Pamela: works that combine social critique with an intense interest in the formation of cultural, national, and gendered identities. We will also read a selection of poetry, from the satirical to the passionate, as well as exploring theatrical work from the beginning and the end of the century, by William Congreve and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. As a period of relative domestic peace and prosperity, the eighteenth century witnessed the expansion of international commerce and the construction of a proud British identity. While this increasing national confidence was frequently celebrated in the literature of the period, many writers cast a critical eye on the price of progress. This conjunction of optimism and anxiety is reflected in the period’s literature, in which the polite and beautiful jostles with the vulgar and the shocking; sentimental love confronts satiric comedy; and the sublime powers of nature compete with the life of the London street, where dirt and disease thrive.
Teaching methods
Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
Lecture | 22 | 1.00 | 22.00 |
Seminar | 10 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
Private study hours | 168.00 | ||
Total Contact hours | 32.00 | ||
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 |
Private study
Seminar preparation, reading, essay writing.Opportunities for Formative Feedback
Contribution to seminars.Submission of assessed essay.
Methods of assessment
Coursework
Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
Essay | 1,700 word essay including quotations and footnotes. Students must submit/sit and pass both elements. Students who fail either element (essay or examination (even as a result of penalties)) will have to resit the failed element in order to pass the module. | 33.30 |
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 33.30 |
Students must submit/sit and pass both elements. Students who fail either element (essay or examination (even as a result of penalties)) will have to resit the failed element in order to pass the module.
Exams
Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 3 hr 00 mins | 66.70 |
Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 66.70 |
Students must submit/sit and pass both elements. Students who fail either element (essay or examination (even as a result of penalties)) will have to resit the failed element in order to pass the module.
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 30/04/2019
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- Undergraduate module catalogue
- Taught Postgraduate module catalogue
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- Taught Postgraduate programme catalogue
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