EN3ECN-The Eighteenth-Century Novel: Sex and Sensibility

Module Provider: English Literature
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:6
Terms in which taught: Autumn term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites: Part 1 English
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2021/2

Module Convenor: Dr Rebecca Bullard
Email: r.bullard@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

The novel as we know it today was born during the eighteenth century. From the first, novels display an intense fascination with the human body, constructions of gender and sexuality, and the physical and emotional responses of readers to the words on the page. But why are eighteenth-century novelists so interested in sex and - to use a key word of the period - sensibility? What different kinds of response do they elicit from their readers? And how can contemporary and recent ideas aboutÌýthe body, gender, authorship and reading help us to interpret these innovative literary texts?Ìý

Aims:

The module aims to equip students with critical skills that will: enable them to interpret and analyse eighteenth-century novels; introduce them to the broader literary and cultural contexts of the period in which the novels were first written, published and read; explore a wide variety of recent critical and theoretical approaches towards eighteenth-century novels; undertake independent research; construct coherent arguments in oral and written form.

Assessable learning outcomes:

Across a range of different forms of assessment students will be expected to: - Engage in close textual analysis; - Situate texts within their particular historical, cultural, literary and generic contexts.- Analyse the interrelations between different authors and texts within the period studied - Undertake independent research using high-quality physical and/or digital resources - Engage critically with ideas discussed in seminars - Construct and express coherent arguments in writing.

Additional outcomes:
Oral and written communication skills will be developed, together with critical, interpretative and analytical abilities. IT skills (word-processing and web-based research) will be developed over the course of the module.

Outline content:

Texts to be studied may include: Daniel Defoe, Roxana; Eliza Haywood, Fantomina; Samuel Richardson, Pamela; Henry Fielding, Shamela; Frances Burney, Evelina; Mary Hays, Memoirs of Emma Courtney;ÌýMary Wollstonecraft, Maria, or The Wrongs of Woman; Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
Three seminar hours weekly, for which students are required to do preparatory reading. Students are also entitled to a half-hour tutorial on their formative written work. With the consent of the module convenor, students may also undertake a placement, through which they will learn how to apply the knowledge and skills gained in studying for this module in a professional context outside the University.