Literature and Performance (ENGL10002)
Undergraduate level 1Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
Overview
| Availability | Semester 1 |
|---|---|
| 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: 9 April 2025
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: 9 April 2025
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: Attendance hurdle requirement: This subject has a minimum requirement of 80% attendance at tutorials, seminars, or workshops. There is an expectation that students attend lectures. | Throughout the semester | N/A |
| Hurdle requirement: Late Penalty and Assessment hurdle requirement: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at five per cent (5%) of the possible marks available for the assessment task per day or part thereof. All pieces of assessment must be submitted to pass the subject. Each submitted assessment must be complete, constitute a genuine attempt to address the requirements of the task and will not be accepted after 20 University business days from the original assessment due date without written approval. | Throughout the semester | N/A |
Last updated: 9 April 2025
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 for 12 weeks. Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 26 February 2024 to 26 May 2024 Last self-enrol date 8 March 2024 Census date 3 April 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 3 May 2024 Assessment period ends 21 June 2024 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: 9 April 2025
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.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Graduate Certificate in Arts Course Bachelor of Arts Course Graduate Diploma in Arts Major English and Theatre Studies - 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.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
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
Last updated: 9 April 2025