Registry

Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2012 - 2013
Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title	The Renaissance
Module Code	LIT4
School	Oscail
Online Module Resources
Module Co-ordinator	Semester 1: James Brunton Semester 2: James Brunton Autumn: James Brunton
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	15
Pre-requisite	LIT1
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

Description

This module focuses on English Renaissance literature in its historical and cultural context. It outlines the range of English poetry (from the sonnet to the epic) as well as the nature of English theatre at the time of Shakespeare.

Learning Outcomes

1. Explain how the main features of Renaissance history, culture,religion and, in particular, the principal ideas of humanism informthe context in which sixteenth-century English writers worked
2. Judge how a range of literary and non-literary texts are informedby contemporary ideologies relating to power, politics and genderthrough the application of literary-critical reading strategies
3. Evaluate the art and uses of poetry by a range of Tudor and Stuart writers
4. Explore the complex relationships between poetry and national andsexual politics in the Elizabethan epic, Spenser's The Faerie Queene
5. Critique how the performance of drama both in and outside thetheatre could be manipulated in order to promote and perpetuatecultural, political and sexual assumptions
6. Assess the contribution of women writers to Renaissance literature
7. Assess the advantages and disadvantages of applying New Historicist methods and reading strategies to the critical study of historical texts

Workload	Full-time hours per semester
*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Tutorial	15	No Description
On-line learning	15	No Description
Independent learning	345	No Description
Total Workload: 375

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Unit 1: Introduction to Terms and Key Concepts.
Unit 2: Methodologies and Critical Approaches.

Unit 3: Introduction to Humanism.
Unit 4: The Reformation and The Bible.

Unit 5: Functions of the Literature of Henry VIII's Court.
Unit 6: Poetics and the Functions of Poetry.

Unit 7: Writing the Elizabethan Epic I.
Unit 8: Writing the Elizabethan Epic II.

Unit 9: The Englishing of Petrarch.
Unit 10: Shakespeare's Sonnets.

Unit 11: Poetry and Gender Politics: The Case of Aemilia Lanyer's Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum.
Unit 12: A Midsummer Night's Dream: Pastoral, Power and Reigning Queens.

Unit 13: Othello.
Unit 14: Drama and Domestic Politics: Elizabeth Cary's Mariam.

Unit 15: The Jew of Malta: Christopher Marlowe's Theatre.
Unit 16: The Merchant of Venice, Money and Representations of the Other.

Unit 17: Antony and Cleopatra: Shakespeare's Romans: Power, Politics and Gender.
Unit 18: John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi.

Unit 19: Ben Jonson's Volpone.
Unit 20: John Donne and Metaphysical Poetry.

Unit 21: Herbert, and Poetry and Donne.
Unit 22: The Renaissance: Summary and Conclusions.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	50%	Examination Weight	50%

Course Work Breakdown
Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assignment	Assessment takes a variety of forms, including essays, reports, learning journals, presentations and group assignments.	50%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 3

Indicative Reading List

John Webster: 0, The Duchess of Malfi, (London: Methuen,2003). Or any other edition.,
William Shakespeare: 0, Antony and Cleopatra, (London and New York: Routledge, 1995). Arden Shakespeare series. Or any other edition.,
H. R. Woudhuysen,ed.: 1993, The Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse: 1509-1659, Penguin,
Christopher Marlowe: 0, The Jew of Malta, 3rd edn.(London: Methuen 2009). Or any other edition,
0: The booklist for this module is too long to present in its entirety here - please see moodle for additional readings and online resources.,

Other Resources

None

Array

Programme or List of Programmes

Diploma/BA in Humanities

BAEH

Diploma/BA in English & History

BASM

BA Single Module

Timetable this semester: Timetable for LIT4

Date of Last Revision

08-DEC-10