Course Catalogue

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This course introduces you to some of the ways in which Victorian literary culture developed and responded to old and new models of authorship, readership and textual production.

Ten x 2-hour seminars.

Standard entry to Masters at College level.

None.

None.

One short piece of critical writing of 1500 words (15%)

One final essay of 3500 words (75%)

One presentation of 10 minutes (10%)

The course aims to

■ introduce students to a wide range of primary sources in Victorian literature

■ enable them to engage with Victorian and recent critical ideas about authorship, readership and the production and circulation of literary texts

■ encourage the development of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the period.

■ encourage the acquisition of research skills through directed and independent study.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ use a variety of critical approaches to engage with a wide range of primary texts from the Victorian period

■ select relevant critical sources in a well-informed way and show understanding of those sources' varying approaches to the period, particularly as regards to concepts and practices of authorship, readership and the production and circulation of literary texts.

■ express their views competently in speech and in writing, frame arguments concisely and at length, and to conform to appropriate scholarly conventions in the presentation of their work.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.