EL3851 - Self, Science and Society in Eighteenth Century Literature

[Offered in even-numbered years]

This subject focuses on English writing between 1660 and 1785, with an emphasis on the eighteenth century. It examines how social and political change and the rise of science impacted on culture and the individual. Key themes include Whig and Tory Party Politics; New Worlds - Microscopic and Cosmological; Debating Women; The Country and the City; A Day in Eighteenth-Century London; The Plurality of Worlds; Slavery and the Slave Trade in Britain; Plagues, Epidemics and Medicine. These themes are addressed by some of the greatest thinkers and writers in the English canon, in a variety of modes including romance, satire, epic, novel, diary, philosophical and scientific writing, and travel and journal writing.

Learning Outcomes

• to broaden and intensify the literary critical skills and understanding attained by students at earlier levels, particularly where essay writing and extra-literary issues are concerned;
• to develop a comprehensive understanding of the set texts;
• to achieve a broad knowledge of how English literature thematizes society, science and self, with an emphasis on the 18th century;
• to acquire a grounding in English literary histories which address and explore how the subjects of society, science and self are addressed in a range of literary modes;
• to acquire a grounding in the methodologies and critical practices appropriate to the themes of society, science and self.

Graduate Qualities

• The ability to think critically, to analyse and evaluate claims, evidence and arguments;
• The ability to define and to solve problems in at least one discipline area;
• The ability to speak and write logically, clearly and creatively;
• A coherent and disciplined body of skills, knowledge, values and professional ethics in at least one discipline area;
• The ability to reflect on and evaluate learning processes and products;
• The ability to learn independently and in a self-directed manner;
• A commitment to lifelong learning and intellectual development.

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.