Last modified: 22 May 2019 17:07
This course traces the use of key Western myths from antiquity to the present to examine the way knowledge is often presented as both dangerous and compelling. As well as introducing students to a range of historical, social, and formal variations on the theme of knowledge, the course also highlights the role of storytelling and adaptation in the formation of knowledge and understanding.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | None. | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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How do we know what we know? Are our lives shaped by our own efforts and learning, or are we subject to forces we cannot control? Does the acquisition of knowledge carry tragic consequences? Such questions have reverberated throughout literary history. Looking at a wide range of texts from ancient to modern, and including poems, plays, and novels, this course will introduce students to some of the central ethical and intellectual concerns found in literature, as well as providing a solid cross-period foundation for further study. Besides literary expressions of the Fall such as Milton's Paradise Lost, the course features reworkings of the Faust and Prometheus legends, including texts by authors such as Aeschylus, Marlowe, Mary Shelley and Angela Carter.
This course aims to:
-Introduce students to a wide range of literary texts on the subject of knowledge
-Situate texts in their historical and cultural contexts
-Provide a diachronic account of the way knowledge has been presented in literature
-Formulate key ethical and epistemological questions in the study of literature
-Through an emphasis on tragedy, relate thematic and intellectual ideas to form and genre
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
-Distinguish between various types of knowledge presented in the course.
-Reflect on the relationship between literature and knowledge as presented in the prescribed texts, and be able to analyse this relationship using appropriate language
-Judge the extent to which knowledge can be considered tragic
-Articulate the relationship between texts from different periods
-Express their ideas clearly and succinctly in both oral and written forms, with appropriate use of secondary sources
-Asses their own learning process in relation to the prescribed texts
Students will also have acquired:
-The practical skills necessary for literary and cultural analysis
-A periodic and formal foundation on which to base their choices of Honours options
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
1st attempt:
Continuous Assessment (100%)
Close-reading exercise (10%)
2,500 word essay (40%)
Tutorial Assessment Mark (10%)
Take-home Exam (40%)
Resit: Take-home exam (100%).
Students will keep a weekly course journal which will not be given a CAS mark, but will be taken into consideration as part of tutorial assessment.
Summative assessments will be given CAS marks, and written or verbal feedback will be provided. Additional informal feedback on performance and tutorial participation is also given in tutorials.
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