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Literature and Performance (ENGL10002)
Undergraduate level 1Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Overview
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This subject introduces students to a variety of literary and performance texts, focusing on distinct but interconnected ways of understanding the two forms. It will study different historical periods and different genres to investigate how textuality and performativity develop and reflect different ways of thinking about identity. Working at the intersections of text, performance and culture, we will examine changing models of self representation from the early modern period to the late 19th century. Shakespearean tragedy develops highly influential modern forms of subjectivity, which see the individual emerge from social distinctions of status and gender and through new forms of representation. The Romantic lyric is designed to produce a revolutionary individuality from the poetically renewed resources of a common language. The mid-19th century realist novel perfects both a new form of writing and a new mode of subjectivity out of the materials of its dramatic and poetic predecessors. European theatre at the end of the 19th century reinvigorates the English tradition and rewrites the conventions of realism. Along with historical and generic concepts, we will also examine the constitutive role of ideas of gender and power in both text and performance. Students who successfully complete this subject will have a detailed understanding of the themes and forms of a range of key texts, and a methodological introduction to further work in English and Theatre Studies.
Intended learning outcomes
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the material conditions and performance traditions of Renaissance, Romantic and realist literary texts;
- work independently to develop and effectively communicate understandings of complex literary material and criticism;
- apply critical and analytical skills unique to English and Theatre Studies to the representation of subjectivity and the self within complex and changing historical contexts; and
- articulate the relationship between diverse forms of knowledge and the social, historical and cultural contexts that produced them, including a detailed understanding of selected plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries; of selected poems by the Romantics, and of selected novels and plays of the 19th century.
Generic skills
At the completion of this subject, students should gain the following generic skills (in the areas of):
- research: through competent use of library, and other (including online) information sources; through the successful definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research;
- critical thinking and analysis: through use of recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion; through the questioning of accepted wisdom and the ability to shape and strengthen persuasive judgments and arguments; through attention to detail in reading material; and through openness to new ideas and the development of critical self-awareness;
- theoretical thinking: through use of recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion; through a productive engagement with relevant methodologies and paradigms in literary studies and the broader humanities;
- creative thinking: through essay writing and tutorial discussion; through the innovative conceptualising of problems and an appreciation of the role of creativity in critical analysis;
- social, ethical and cultural understanding: through use of recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion; through the social contextualisation of arguments and judgments; through adaptations of knowledge to new situations and openness to new ideas; through the development of critical self-awareness in relation to an understanding of other cultures and practices; and
- intelligent and effective communication of knowledge and ideas: through essay preparation, planning and writing as well as tutorial discussion; through effective dissemination of ideas from recommended reading and other relevant information sources; through clear definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research; through confidence to express ideas in public forums.
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
106-109 Literature and Performance
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Assessment
Additional details
- A short (c.5 mins) in-class presentation (10%), due throughout semester;
- A text-based exercise of 800 words (20%), due early in semester;
- An essay of 1200 words (30%), due mid-semester; and
- An essay of 1600 words (40%), due in the examination period.
- Hurdle: This subject has a minimum hurdle requirement of 80% attendance and regular participation in tutorials. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Coordinator Paul Rae Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total 36 hours: 2 x 1-hour lectures and a 1-hour tutorial per week. Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 4 March 2019 to 2 June 2019 Last self-enrol date 15 March 2019 Census date 31 March 2019 Last date to withdraw without fail 10 May 2019 Assessment period ends 28 June 2019 Semester 1 contact information
Time commitment details
170 hours
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Compulsory:
- Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, (Oxford)
- Aphra Behn, Oronooko (Oxford or Penguin)
- Stephen Greenblatt (Ed)The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Tenth Edition. Volume D: The Romantic Period (Norton)
- Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, (Oxford)
- Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Oxford)
Optional:
- William Shakespeare, Othello, (Oxford)
- George Farquhar, The Recruiting Officer (Methuen, New Mermaids imprint)
- Oscar Wilde, ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ in Complete Poems (Oxford)
- Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House in Four Major Plays (Oxford)
A subject reader will also be available
- Subject notes
Students who have completed 106-109 Shakespeare’s Theatre or 106-109 Literary Self Fashioning are not eligible to enrol in this subject.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Specialisation (formal) English and Theatre Studies Specialisation (formal) English and Theatre Studies Major English and Theatre Studies Breadth Track Theatre Studies Breadth Track English - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 11 April 2024