Module Catalogue 2026/27

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

War Writing asks students to think about who early period literature belongs to today. It examines ideas of patriotism, national identity, and the intersection of religion and race in narratives of 'us' and 'them'. It therefore revisits dialogues of warfare but, moreover, storytelling and the power of the narrative to manipulate readers and to create biases that still have influence today. The module gives students the opportunity to develop detailed knowledge of Medieval and Early Modern Literature and to broaden their understanding of the wider themes and contexts, the conceptual and contextual approaches, and the critical methods germane to the study of the literature of this period.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module will explore themes and debates of war and storytelling, and also how writers responded creatively to new and old influences, how they explored authorship and their reading audience, and persistent themes such as gender, chivalry, patriotism, national identity, poverty, and protest. Topics may include:
• Old English narratives of otherness
• Early Middle English discourses of race and national identity
• Chaucer writing women and writing England
• Arthurian texts writing chivalry and gender
• Early drama and religious identity
• Early modern texts and narratives of early imperialism.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the module, students will:
•Be able to analyse selected Early English texts and their historical and generic contexts.
•Be familiar with the complexity of Early Literatures.
•Be aware of different theoretical, conceptual, and contextual approaches to reading Early Literature.
•Be able to show relevant knowledge of the literary history of this period, its predominant themes and concerns.
•Have an awareness of the linguistic, social, and cultural contexts informing this literature.
•Have a familiarity with and the ability to apply relevant conceptual and contextual approaches to this literature.
•Understand the origins and consequences of language and question the homogeneity and pluralism of English.
•Have a greater awareness of the context in which we read these texts now, including their potential for (mis)interpretation and (mis)appropriation.

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:
•Analyse early literature in its original language, with the aid of historical dictionaries and well-glossed editions.
•Assimilate information from a number of sources: literary, historical, critical, theoretical, manuscript, and print.
•Critically compare and contrast different texts and contexts.
•Identify and explore issues linked to relevant concerns in the study of Early Literatures.
•Read and comprehend in their original language literary works written in Early Englishes.
•Exercise and develop a sensitivity to verbal creativity.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures introduce students to the module topics. Small group teaching seminars introduce students to knowledge outcomes and provide support for the guided reading of early Literatures. Workshops enable students to practice their skills, namely close textual analysis, critical thinking, literacy, oral, written, and interpersonal communication, and the synthesis and presentation of material. Directed research and reading time, as well as independent study allows students to prepare for the seminars and assessments in terms that give them genuine ownership over the material.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The combination of a mid-module presentation on their research theme and final essay on that same topic allows students to take ownership over the material, enabling them to explore the module's themes and their own independent interests guided by the module teaching. Ensuring good coverage of the texts on the module, the assessment will focus students upon detailed aspects of the material in terms that connect their ideas with the module’s broader thematic content.

General Notes

N/A