| Unit name | Writing the City: London 1550-1740 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL20069 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. John McTague |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one | |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit looks at how writers and other practitioners imagined and interpreted London as it grew and changed at dizzying speed through the early modern period, and drew to it people from all walks of life. We will ask how writers imagined and interpreted urban geographies, and how those geographies in turn shaped the drama, poetry, and novels that were written there. We will read literary texts alongside sermons, pamphlets, advertisements, court records and other kinds of evidence. The unit examines the ways in which literature interacted with the city’s changing economic and material cultures, and how writers represent crime, the urban underworld and the market for illicit sex. It asks how aesthetic and other values were influenced by new tastes in fashion and luxury goods, and by the city’s new places and forms of exchange. The unit will also examine literature’s role in the construction and negotiation of urban identities and the city’s boundaries, how literature represents the place of men and women in the city, and how the city interacts with the stage and an emerging public sphere of print culture. The unit is explicitly designed to introduce students to high-level literary and historical research skills, both in the assessments (a group research project culminating in a research poster, as well as an exam), and in the weekly hands-on sessions where students will use research databases and other materials in order to answer questions or solve problems. Core literary texts may change from year to year. Works studied in previous years include Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders; Isabella Whitney, ‘Last Will and Testament’; Ben Jonson, The Alchemist; Alexander Pope, The Dunciad; Eliza Haywood, Fantomina. Students curious about which texts will feature on the unit in a given year should contact the unit convenor.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will involve asynchronous and synchronous elements, including long- and short-form lectures, group discussion, research and writing activities, and peer dialogue. Students are expected to engage with the reading and participate fully with the weekly tasks and topics. Learning will be further supported through the opportunity for individual consultation.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ENGL20069).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
