Seminar Topics and Questions

1          Introduction

2          How differently do Marlowe and Spenser represent sexuality in the poems set for this week?

3          What forms does the concept of personal identity take in Doctor Faustus?

4          Discuss the implicit critique of heterosexuality in Shakespeare’s Sonnets.

5          Discuss the concept of 'the good life' in the texts set for study for this week.

6          What do the persona of Donne’s third satire and Hamlet have in common?

7          How is the will to power depicted in Macbeth?

8          What is ‘the natural’ in King Lear?

9          Is Othello more concerned with jealousy or with the power of fictions?

10        Discuss Jonson’s modelling of social relations in the play and the poem set for study this week.

11        What is Bacon’s concept of civil life?

12        ‘Marvell is primarily a maker of myths’. Do you agree?

Final Assignment Questions

1. Consider portrayal of the will to power in one play by Shakespeare and writings by two other authors you have studied this semester?

2. How are problems of constructing the self portrayed in three plays you have studied this semester?

3. How important are issues of political loyalty in three plays you have studied this semester?

4. How do Shakespeare and Jonson use the idea of  meta-drama as a theme in their plays?

5. Design a question of your own—but discuss it with me before you start work on it.

Seminars E2.

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Attendance at seminars is compulsory, as are delivery of the presentation and submission of the assignments. As has been mentioned above, extensions will be given only in exceptional circumstances. Late work will be penalised at the rate of 2% per day.

Plagiarism

The University defines plagiarism in its rules: “Plagiarism involves using the work of another person and presenting it as one’s own.” Plagiarism is a serious breach of the University’s rules and carries significant penalties. Information about plagiarism can be found in the Handbook of Undergraduate Studies, and on the web at http//www.student.mq.edu.au/plagiarism/. If you are in doubt consult your lecturer or tutor.

All academic programmes at Macquarie seek to develop graduate capabilities. These are:

COGNITIVE CAPABILITIES

1. Discipline Knowledge and Skills

Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.

1. Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher-level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.

1. Research and Problem Solving Capability

Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.

INTERPERSONAL and PERSONAL DISPOSITIONS

1. Effective Communication

Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats

1. Engaged and Responsible, Active and Ethical citizens

Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues

1. Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative

Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.

Note: The numbers listed at the end of each Learning Outcome indicate how it is aligned with the Graduate Capabilities.

The learning outcomes of this unit are: (Link to graduate capabilities in brackets):  

At the completion of this unit students will:

Acquire a coherent and advanced knowledge of writings by Shakespeare and by his contemporaries;

synthesize and analyze information from a variety of sources, and acquire an understanding of rhetorical practices and of genre in early modern British texts;

gain insights into the social environment of early modern British texts, and be able to articulate clearly a coherent argument in written and oral form to a variety of audiences;

think critically and make informed and logical judgments of the arguments of others to arrive at reasoned and meaningful arguments and positions, and formulate and apply ideas to new contexts;

demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills to make decisions in the context of professional practice and/or scholarship; and

demonstrate high standards of ethical conduct in research activities and relationships (all outcomes link with 1-4, 6 above).

How LOs work at the level of the unit:

In alignment with the Masters of Research Program aims, the emphasis in the expected learning outcomes is on advanced rather than on introductory or merely competent knowledge and understanding. The level of thinking required of students is such as to enhance and advance their capacities for critical thinking across a range of literary works. Independence of thought, increased self-reflection, and a greater capacity for shaping individual research-essay topics are all expected and encouraged at this level. Students are expected to gain advanced knowledge not just of current scholarship in the field, but of how this scholarship shapes current debates and how their own research practices can engage with and intervene in these debates.  

700-Level Learning Outcomes

KNOWLEDGE (2):

Acquire a coherent and advanced knowledge of the principles and concepts within a discipline area.

Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of research principles and methods.

SKILLS (3):

Synthesize and analyze information from a variety of sources.

Articulate clearly a coherent argument in written and oral form to a variety of audiences.

Think critically and make informed and logical judgments of the arguments of others to arrive at reasoned and meaningful arguments and positions, and formulate and apply ideas to new contexts.

APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS (2):

Demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills to make decisions in the context of professional practice and/or scholarship.

Demonstrate high standards of ethical conduct in research activities and relationships.