SEL3455 : Queer/Trans/Early Modern
- Offered for Year: 2026/27
- Available for Study Abroad and Exchange students, subject to School approval at module registration
- Module Leader(s): Professor Kate Chedgzoy
- Owning School: English Lit, Language & Linguistics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Pre-requisite
Modules you must have done previously to study this module
Pre Requisite Comment
N/A
Co-Requisite
Modules you need to take at the same time
Co Requisite Comment
N/A
Aims
This module aims to introduce students to a varied selection of early modern texts, broadening their knowledge of the culture of the period across genres and forms.
By combining historicist scholarship with cutting edge theoretical approaches, it aims to provide students with the tools to critically analyse questions of embodiment, gender and sexuality in early modern culture and in our own context.
The module will take an intersectional approach, registering how class, colonialism and race helped to shape changing ideas about embodiment, gender and sexuality in the early modern period, and noting how those intersections remain significant. In doing so, it enables to enable students both to make sense of the complexity of literary representations of embodiment, gender and sexuality, and to make informed contributions to current debates about these issues.
Outline Of Syllabus
The module will interweave the study of selected sixteenth- and seventeenth-century texts and writings on gender, sex, sexuality and embodiment by C20th and C21st critics and commentators. Students will be encouraged both to explore the early modern texts in relation to current issues, and to reflect on how studying the past can deepen our understanding of the world we inhabit.
In 2025/26, early modern texts are likely to include:
Plays:
- William Shakespeare, As You Like It;
- Thomas Middleton, The Roaring Girl;
- John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, Love's Cure;
- Margaret Cavendish, The Convent of Pleasure.
Poetry by Richard Barnfield and Katherine Phillips
Life writing associated with Catalina de Erauso and Thomasine Hall
Other texts are being considered for inclusion; final decisions about primary texts will be made nearer the time of teaching to ensure the module is engaged with current conversations in this fast-moving field.
Relevant contemporary scholarly and activist writings will also be assigned as essential reading.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 9 | 1:00 | 9:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 36:00 | 36:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 54:00 | 54:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 9 | 2:00 | 18:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 2 | 2:00 | 4:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 3 | 2:00 | 6:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 73:00 | 73:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures will include a variety of teaching and learning activities appropriate to the intended outcomes of the module.
Seminars will allow for deeper study of materials and issues addressed in lectures and support the development of analytical and reflective skills as well as depth of understanding.
Student-led study groups (Directed research and reading) will ensure that students are well-prepared to participate in class, and encourage them to be active and independent learners.
Workshops and surgery sessions will provide guidance on assessment and support with the broader reflective learning aims of the module.
Assessment preparation time reflects the need for both sustained reflective engagement with learning and the undertaking of independent research and thinking.
As for all English Literature modules, extensive independent research and reading under the guidance of the module leader is an essential element of the development of students' knowledge and skills.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | 1 | A | 100 | See Assessment Rationale and Relationship |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | M | Optional written exercise designed to support progress towards the final assessment. Students may choose to include it in the portfolio along with reflective commentary on how they engaged with the learning process |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The portfolio will require students to engage in detail with the texts and concepts studied, demonstrating their ability to relate critical and historical debates to textual analysis, as well as assessing key discipline-specific skills in research and writing. It will consist of between 2 and 4 items (one of which must reflect on learning and engagement), to a total of 3500 words. This word limit reflects the greater breadth of focus and research required to complete a multi-element portfolio than a single essay - i.e. it is intended to require an equivalent amount of work to a 4000 word essay.
There will be an optional formative assignment; students who complete this will be invited to incorporate it into their portfolio and discuss it in their reflective piece. In addition, students will be supported in class to try out and develop draft material with input from the module leader and via peer review activities.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- SEL3455's Timetable