SEL2204 : Victorian Passions: Victorian Values
- Offered for Year: 2020/21
- Module Leader(s): Dr Jacob Jewusiak
- Lecturer: Dr Ella Mershon, Dr Ella Dzelzainis, Dr Kirsten MacLeod
- Owning School: English Lit, Language & Linguistics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
This module is designed to unpack the phrase, ‘Victorian values’, which nowadays invokes ideas of sexual repression, stifling middle-class morality, an unbending religious code, and jingoistic insularity. Yet the Victorians saw themselves as living in an age of unprecedented social change, engaging in passionate and controversial debates about the values of the world in which they lived. The module will explore four key debates – questions of sexuality and morality, class conflict, the clash between science and faith, and empire – as they appeared in a range of different genres across the early, mid and late Victorian periods. In the course of the module students will:
Explore some of the most controversial debates of the Victorian period and their articulation in a range of Victorian literary texts.
Consider the formal expression of these debates in a range of different and developing literary genres.
Consider the discursive relationship between text and context in the Victorian novel.
Consider the relationship between literature, history and ideology.
Practise appropriate skills of critical analysis.
Outline Of Syllabus
Each of the topics - the Fallen Woman; Class Conflict; Faith and Doubt; and Empire - will be taught via at least two texts in which the issue is a central concern (though there will inevitably be overlap as gender, for example, cannot be adequately discussed without reference to class and religion in the Victorian period). In addition, all three literary genres will be covered. There will be a text per week. Indicative texts and authors include Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles; Christina Rossetti, Goblin Market; Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Books; George Bernard Shaw, Mrs Warren's Profession; Douglas Jerrold, The Rent Day; H. Rider Haggard, She.
Teaching Methods
Please note that module leaders are reviewing the module teaching and assessment methods for Semester 2 modules, in light of the Covid-19 restrictions. There may also be a few further changes to Semester 1 modules. Final information will be available by the end of August 2020 in for Semester 1 modules and the end of October 2020 for Semester 2 modules.
Teaching Activities
Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Structured Guided Learning | Lecture materials | 16 | 2:00 | 32:00 | Asynchronous lecture |
Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 33:00 | 33:00 | Asynchronous learning |
Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 88:00 | 88:00 | Asynchronous learning |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 4 | 2:00 | 8:00 | Synchronous in person |
Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 30:00 | 30:00 | Asynchronous learning |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Scheduled on-line contact time | 9 | 1:00 | 9:00 | Asynchronous guided learning activities |
Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The lectures are designed introduce students to the texts to be studied, providing as much information about the period as possible and demonstrating strategies of reading which link texts to their context. The scheduled online contact time and workshops encourage students to incorporate this knowledge and develop these strategies in their own reading practice.
Assessment Methods
Please note that module leaders are reviewing the module teaching and assessment methods for Semester 2 modules, in light of the Covid-19 restrictions. There may also be a few further changes to Semester 1 modules. Final information will be available by the end of August 2020 in for Semester 1 modules and the end of October 2020 for Semester 2 modules.
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essay | 1 | A | 75 | 3000 words |
Written exercise | 1 | M | 25 | 1000 word commentary |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The commentary tests close reading skills and awareness of the relationship between text and context. The longer essay tests the more complex strategies of reading which take into account the wider Victorian context and competing ideologies of the period.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- SEL2204's Timetable