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Literature and Performance (ENGL10002)
Undergraduate level 1Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
To learn more, visit 2023 Course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Overview
Availability | Semester 1 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
Between the early modern period and the end of the nineteenth century, literature and performance developed in a dynamic, innovative relationship. The inventiveness of Renaissance drama went hand in hand with an explosion in print culture. Later periods saw the emergence of the novel and radical changes in poetic and theatrical form as writers and performers participated in far-reaching social, political and technological transformations. Drawing on printed texts, archival materials and performance documentation, this subject introduces students to the range of critical skills required for the study of literature and theatre: close reading and an understanding of literary form; the analysis of narrative, theme and character; the interpretation of performance. It does so with reference to some of the most significant global developments of the period: colonialism, revolution, and changing conceptions of the self. The result is a significant insight into how and why literature and performance in English look and sound the way they do today.
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
- 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
- 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
None
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
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
A short in-class presentation
| Throughout the semester | 10% |
A text-based exercise
| Early in the teaching period | 20% |
An essay
| Mid semester | 30% |
An essay
| During the examination period | 40% |
Hurdle requirement: This subject has a minimum requirement of (or at least) 80% attendance at tutorials, seminars, or workshops. There is an expectation that students attend lectures, in person or via online delivery. All pieces of assessment must be submitted to pass this subject. For the purposes of meeting this hurdle requirement, each submitted assessment must be complete and constitute a genuine attempt to address the requirements of the task. (Complete not less than 50% of word count). | Throughout the semester | N/A |
Additional details
Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 2% per working day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Coordinator Sara Fernandes Crouch 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 27 February 2023 to 28 May 2023 Last self-enrol date 10 March 2023 Census date 31 March 2023 Last date to withdraw without fail 5 May 2023 Assessment period ends 23 June 2023 Semester 1 contact information
Time commitment details
170 hours
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
NB: Some plays (marked with an asterisk (*) below) will be studied from a performance angle. These theatre performances are freely available as streaming videos through the library system.
Compulsory:
- Aphra Behn, Oronooko (Oxford or Penguin)
- Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, (Oxford)
- The Woman of Colour, A Tale (Broadview).
Optional:
- Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, (Oxford)*
- William Shakespeare, Othello, (Oxford)*
- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays (Penguin)*
- Stephen Greenblatt (Ed),The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Tenth Edition. Volume D: The Romantic Period (Norton)
Some additional primary texts will be made available electronically.
- 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:
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Science
- 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