Students

ENGL720 – Nineteenth Century Literature

2014 – S1 Evening

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Credit points Credit points
4
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MRes
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
The nineteenth century was a period of rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and imperial expansion that redefined concepts of gender, class, the nature of work and the domestic. Writers responded with energy and passion to social and political change, creating in the process increasingly diverse literary forms. The kinds of literary writing that emerged radically redefined the cultural and public sphere. This was also the age of emerging mass readerships and literary celebrities. Taking a selection of literary texts as a starting point, this unit explores nineteenth-century literary culture as dynamic, diverse and self-consciously modern.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Synthesise and analyse information from a variety of sources in order to engage at an advanced, theoretically informed level with a range of nineteenth-century literary texts
  • Develop sophisticated analytical and research skills that can be applied to past and present cultural and literary debates
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills in order to communicate historical and theoretical concepts in verbal and written forms
  • Develop an advanced, critically informed understanding of the impact on contemporary culture of late eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century cultural forms
  • Attain an advanced understanding of the historical and often hierarchical deployment of concepts of nature and culture, violence and the criminal, progress, reason, the imagination, literary and aesthetic value.
  • Gain skills in arguing persuasively a critical position by producing and engaging in informed critical discussion on unit content in seminars

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Due
Essay/Research Proposal 30% 16 April
Essay 45% 16 June
Presentation and Report 15% Date of relevant seminar
Seminar Participation 10% Continuing

Essay/Research Proposal

Due: 16 April
Weighting: 30%

Essay/Research Proposal 1250w. Using the set texts of weeks 2-6 develop a topic for your research essay. You should articulate the methodological/theoretical field in which you will situate your textual analysis, supported by an annotated bibliography of 2-3 secondary sources, identify a provisional corpus of primary texts, and devise a working title for your essay. Please see Unit's iLearn site for further details.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Synthesise and analyse information from a variety of sources in order to engage at an advanced, theoretically informed level with a range of nineteenth-century literary texts
  • Develop sophisticated analytical and research skills that can be applied to past and present cultural and literary debates
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills in order to communicate historical and theoretical concepts in verbal and written forms
  • Develop an advanced, critically informed understanding of the impact on contemporary culture of late eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century cultural forms
  • Attain an advanced understanding of the historical and often hierarchical deployment of concepts of nature and culture, violence and the criminal, progress, reason, the imagination, literary and aesthetic value.

Essay

Due: 16 June
Weighting: 45%

2500w essay based on the working topic and methodology developed in your Essay/Research Proposal. see Unit's iLearn site for further details
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Synthesise and analyse information from a variety of sources in order to engage at an advanced, theoretically informed level with a range of nineteenth-century literary texts
  • Develop sophisticated analytical and research skills that can be applied to past and present cultural and literary debates
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills in order to communicate historical and theoretical concepts in verbal and written forms
  • Develop an advanced, critically informed understanding of the impact on contemporary culture of late eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century cultural forms
  • Attain an advanced understanding of the historical and often hierarchical deployment of concepts of nature and culture, violence and the criminal, progress, reason, the imagination, literary and aesthetic value.

Presentation and Report

Due: Date of relevant seminar
Weighting: 15%

650w. A short presentation and written report based on ONE of the focus questions in the week of your presentation. See Unit's iLearn site for further information.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Synthesise and analyse information from a variety of sources in order to engage at an advanced, theoretically informed level with a range of nineteenth-century literary texts
  • Develop sophisticated analytical and research skills that can be applied to past and present cultural and literary debates
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills in order to communicate historical and theoretical concepts in verbal and written forms
  • Develop an advanced, critically informed understanding of the impact on contemporary culture of late eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century cultural forms
  • Attain an advanced understanding of the historical and often hierarchical deployment of concepts of nature and culture, violence and the criminal, progress, reason, the imagination, literary and aesthetic value.
  • Gain skills in arguing persuasively a critical position by producing and engaging in informed critical discussion on unit content in seminars

Seminar Participation

Due: Continuing
Weighting: 10%

Seminar attendance and active participation in class discussion.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Synthesise and analyse information from a variety of sources in order to engage at an advanced, theoretically informed level with a range of nineteenth-century literary texts
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills in order to communicate historical and theoretical concepts in verbal and written forms
  • Gain skills in arguing persuasively a critical position by producing and engaging in informed critical discussion on unit content in seminars

Delivery and Resources

Classes

Students attend one 2 hour seminar per week.

For seminar times and seminar rooms please consult the MQ Timetable website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au. This website will display up-to-date information on your classes and room locations.

Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials

REQUIRED READING (in order of study)

1.     Jane Austen Emma

2.     Anne Brontë The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

3.     Elizabeth Gaskell  North and South

4.     Charles Dickens Bleak House

5.     George Eliot Daniel Deronda

6.     Arthur Morrison A Child of the Jago

Poetry will be available on the unit's iLearn site

RECOMMENDED READING

Please see unit's iLearn site

Technology Used and Required

Online units can be accessed at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/.

PC and Internet access are required. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement.

Please consult teaching staff for any further, more specific requirements. 

Unit Schedule

Please see Unit's iLearn site

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy  http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html

Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
19/02/2014 The Description was updated.