Literature: Medieval to Modern

• • A week-by-week guide to the topics you will explore in this subject will be provided in your study materials.

No eligibility requirements

Special requirements

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  Students who have an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion under Macquarie University's Academic Progression Policy are not permitted to enrol in OUA units offered by Macquarie University. Students with an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion who have enrolled in units through OUA will be withdrawn.

English literature is foundational to modern life, providing everyday cultural references and a storehouse of stories that entertain us and enrich our communication and interaction with each other. This entry unit is informed by the questions: What is literature for? Why is it necessary? Why is it useful? Running through our program is the idea that literature helps us conceive of what it means to be human, and to apprehend the lived experience of other humans.  This unit surveys English literature from its medieval beginnings, through the Shakespearean Renaissance, to the late nineteenth century, when the Modernist movement began to supplant the Decadence of the late Victorian era, and children’s literature began to proliferate, contributing to our modern idea of what it means to be a child. Students will read a wide variety of literature and will be introduced to a range of concepts and tools for studying these texts. Along with a chronological knowledge of literary movements, this unit develops skills at university level in critical reading, textual analysis and writing about literary texts. Short literary works and weekly critical studies provide focal points for developing detailed and informed ways of interpreting different kinds of narratives. This unit will also provide students with an introduction to further studies in English and creative writing at Macquarie.

• Quiz: Week 3 (10%)
• Participatory Task 1 (Week 7) (10%)
• Participatory Task 2 (Week 13) (10%)
• Analysis Task (30%)
• Essay: Week 13 (40%)