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2022/2023

British Romantic Literature

Code: 106297 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2504212 English Studies OB 2 1
2504380 English and Catalan Studies OB 2 2
2504386 English and Spanish Studies OB 2 1
2504393 English and French Studies OB 2 2
2504394 English and Classics Studies OB 2 1

Contact

Name:
Maria Cristina Pividori Gurgo
Email:
mariacristina.pividori@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
english (eng)
Some groups entirely in English:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
No
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Prerequisites

In order to take this subject, we recommend that you should previously have passed "Introducció a la Literatura Anglesa" (Introduction to Literature in English)

We also recommend that you should at all times bear in mind the content taught in the first-year subject “Història Cultural de les Illes Britàniques” (Cultural History of the British Isles).

A level of English of C2 (Proficiency) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is required for this subject. With C2, students can understand practically anything that they read or hear without effort; summarise information deriving from diverse written or spoken sources; reconstruct facts and arguments, and present these in a coherent fashion; express themselves spontaneously, with fluency and precision, distinguishing subtle nuances of meanings even in the most complex of situations.

 

Objectives and Contextualisation

Literatura del Romanticisme Britànic (British Romanticism) provides an introduction both to the English poetry produced during the period of Romanticism in the British Isles (c.1780 to c.1830) and to representative works of English novelistic fiction written in the same period. The subject involves the reading, analysis, debate and interpretation of the selected works. The academic training deriving from this subject is essential for all subsequent courses in this degree relating to English Literature in the sense that the principal aim of this subject is to prepare students to be competent and effective readers, ctitical thinkers and analytical writers. 

On successfully completing British Romanticism, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate a good level of reading knowledge as regards the key literary works of English Romanticism

• Produce basic literary criticism through essays and presentations.

• Use the resources of any university library relating to material on the literature of the English Romanticism.

• Express an informed opinion on the literary texts studied throughout this course.

Competences

    English Studies
  • Apply the methodology of analysis and critical concepts to analysing the literature, culture and history of English-speaking countries.
  • Identify and analyse the main currents, genres, works and authors in English and comparative literature.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge. 
  • Understand and produce written and spoken academic texts in English at advanced higher-proficient-user level (C2).
  • Use current philological methodologies to interpret literary texts in English and their cultural and historical context.
  • Use digital tools and specific documentary sources for the collection and organisation of information.
  • Use written and spoken English for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, the philosophy of language, history, English culture and literature.
    English and Catalan Studies
  • Critically evaluate the literary and cultural production in the Catalan and English languages and their historical and social context.
  • Identify and interpret literary texts in different languages, analysing the generic, formal, thematic and cultural characteristics in accordance with the concepts and methods of comparative literature and literary theory.
  • Make correct use of written and spoken English for academic or professional purposes, related to the study of language, history, culture and literature.
  • Recognise the most significant periods, traditions, tendencies, authors and works of literature in the Catalan and English languages in their socio-historical context.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
    English and Spanish Studies
  • Correctly use written and oral English and Spanish for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, history, culture and literature.
  • Critically analyse linguistic, literary and cultural production in English and Spanish, applying the techniques and methods of critical editing and digital processing.
  • Interpret literary texts in English or Spanish within their cultural and historical context using current philological methodologies and textual and comparative strategies.
  • Recognize the most significant periods, traditions, trends, authors and works of literature in English and Spanish languages in their historical and social context
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
    English and French Studies
  • Critically apply the different current philological methodologies to interpret literary texts in English and French and their cultural and historical context.
  • Evaluate and propose solutions to theoretical or practical problems in the fields of English and French literature, culture and linguistics.
  • Recognize the most significant periods, traditions, trends, authors and works of literature in English and French in their historical and social context.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
  • Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
  • Use spoken English and French correctly for academic and professional purposes related to the study of linguistics, history, culture and literature.
    English and Classics Studies
  • Apply the methodology of analysis and knowledge of genres, metrics and stylistics to comment on literary texts and analyse the culture and history of English-speaking countries and the ancient world.
  • Recognize the most significant periods, traditions, trends, authors and works of Greek, Latin and English literatures in their historical and social context.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge. 
  • Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
  • Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
  • Use written and spoken English correctly for academic and professional purposes related to the study of English linguistics, history, culture, and literature.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse and interpret (at a basic level) literary texts in English of the nineteenth century.
  2. Assess how stereotypes and gender roles are present in literary texts of British Romanticism and the Victorian period.
  3. Conduct bibliographic searches of secondary sources related to nineteenth-century Literature using digital technologies.
  4. Correctly contextualise literary texts in English of the nineteenth century in their corresponding historical and cultural environment.
  5. Correctly contextualise nineteenth-century literary texts in English within the History of English Literature.
  6. Demonstrate a solid knowledge of subjects related to the study of Literature and Culture in general.
  7. Demonstrate understanding (C2) of a wide range of nineteenth-century literary texts in English and recognise implicit meaning.
  8. Demonstrate understanding at higher-proficient-user level (C2) of a wide range of nineteenth-century literary texts in English and recognise implicit meaning.
  9. Demonstrate understanding of a wide range of nineteenth-century literary texts at higher-proficient-user level (C2) in English and recognise implicit meaning.
  10. Demonstrate understanding of a wide range of nineteenth-century literary texts in English and recognise implicit meaning at Mastery level (C2).
  11. Demonstrate understanding of a wide range of nineteenth-century literary texts in English and recognise implicit meaning.
  12. Distinguish principal ideas from secondary ideas and synthesise the contents of literary texts of the nineteenth century.
  13. Express oneself in English orally and in writing in an academic register and using appropriate terminology in relation to the study of nineteenth-century literature.
  14. Express oneself in English orally and in writing in an academic register, using terminology appropriate to the study of the texts and contexts of English literature.
  15. Integrate secondary sources related to nineteenth-century Literature in the production of basic academic criticism.
  16. Locate and organise relevant English-language information available on the internet, databases and libraries, and apply this to work and/or research environments.
  17. Make oral presentations in English (C2) of academic content on topics related to nineteenth-century literary texts in English.
  18. Make oral presentations in English aat Mastery level (C2) of academic content on topics related to nineteenth-century literary texts in English.
  19. Make oral presentations in English at advanced higher-proficient-user level (C2) of academic content on topics related to nineteenth-century literary texts in English.
  20. Make oral presentations in English at higher-proficient-user level (C2) of academic content on topics related to nineteenth-century literary texts in English.
  21. Make oral presentations in English of academic content on topics related to nineteenth-century literary texts in English.
  22. Participate in face-to-face and virtual discussions in English on topics related to nineteenth-century literary texts in English.
  23. Produce written and spoken academic texts at a higher-proficient-user level (C2) on the concepts and skills relevant to the study of English literary texts and contexts.
  24. Understand specialised academic texts at higher-proficient-user level (C2) on research into the texts and contexts of English literature.
  25. Write argumentative essays (C2) of medium length and produce textual commentaries in English on topics related to nineteenth-century literary texts in English.
  26. Write argumentative essays at Mastery level (C2) of medium length and produce textual commentaries in English on topics related to nineteenth-century literary texts in English.

Content

UNIT 1: First-Generation Romantic Poets (Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge)

UNIT 2: Second-Generation Romantic Poets (Byron, Shelley, Keats)

UNIT 3: Mary Shelley: Frankenstein

UNIT 4: Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice

 

Methodology

 1 ECTS credit = 25 teaching hours > 6 credits = 150 hours 

Annotation:Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
In-class reading and debate 15 0.6 1, 9, 10, 11, 6, 13, 14, 18, 21, 22
Individual study 25 1 1, 24, 10, 11, 3, 16, 23, 25, 26, 2
Lectures 30 1.2 24, 8, 9, 11, 12, 2
Type: Supervised      
Commentary writing 25 1 5, 6, 12, 13, 14, 3, 15, 16, 23, 25, 26
Type: Autonomous      
Individual reading 55 2.2 1, 24, 5, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 3, 15

Assessment

Assessment is based on the following:

  • 1 take-home critical commentary (2 texts) of a first- and second-generation Romantic poem= 25%. [Task assigned after finalising Units 1 & 2]
  • 1 Short writing activity (take-home task) on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein = 20%. [To be written at home on finalising Unit 3]
  • 1 Essay on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice = 45%. [Essay submitted on final day of course or before; dates for submitting the proposal will be confirmed by the lecturers during the course]. If the lecturer requires a proposal to be submitted separately (see "The essay on Austen", below) , the grading percentages are as follows: proposal 10%; essay 35% [total, 45%]. 
  • Class participation and contribution = 10%

With the exception of the essay-proposal submission, all definitive assessment dates will be published in the class calendar at the start of the course.

The critical commentary will require students to write a critical appreciation (350-500 words) of (i) a first-generation and (ii) a second-generation Romantic poem. 

The short writing activity (Mary Shelley) requires a text of 500-700 word that provides a personal and less formal view by the student on this novel (specific task to be confirmed).

The essay on Austen is a text of 1000 words (approx.), duly supported by cited critical sources (a minimum of three); its bibliography must be correctly formatted. The topic is chosen from a list of possible questions. Depending on the class group, the lecturer may require students to submit a proposal for the essay several weeks prior to the final submission deadline for the definitive essay itself. In this case, the proposal will be weighted as 10% and the essay as 35% (total weighting for the combined assignment: 45%) 

  • Grades awarded for certain assessment activities may, with the lecturer’s approval, be improved if the student records brief related video content for the department’s YouTube channel. This will be confirmed in class during the course.
  • ALL OBLIGATORY READING MUST BE DULY CARRIED OUT. Any indication that a student has not diligently completed the course reading may negatively affect final assessment.
  • Assessment is continuous; level of English will be taken into account in all written work and for the final-assessment grade.
  • All assessment activities are obligatory in order to pass the subject. (See “Reassessment”.)
  • On carrying out each assessment activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

Procedure for reviewing submitted work:

All students have the right to a personalised tutorial (in the lecturer’s office) in order to review their submitted work. However, students lose the right to this review if they do not collect their work within the dates estipulated by the teacher. At the time of each activity, the lecturer will inform the class (by Moodle) of the procedure and dates of the review process.

Reassessment:

Reassessment for this subject requires a content-synthesis exam (date confirmed during the course), for which all the following conditions are applicable:

• The student must previously have submitted a minimum of two-thirds of the course-assessment items.
• The student must previously have obtained an average overall grade of 3.5. or higher.
• The maximum grade than can be obtained through reassessment is 5.0.

Reassessment is available ONLY to students who have failed initial assessment; it is NOT available to students who have passed but wish to improve their final grade.

Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted coursegrade unlessthey have submitted a minimum of two-thirds of the course-assessment items.

On presentation of a doctor's note, students may be given the chance to do the reassessment exam on a date and at atime arranged with the lecturer.

Plagiarism:

  • Total or partial plagiarism of any of the assessment activities will automatically be awarded a “fail” (that is, zero) for the plagiarised item.
  • Plagiarism is copying from unidentified sources and presenting this as original work (this includes copying phrases or fragments from the internet and adding them without modification to a text which is presented as original).
  • Plagiarism is a serious offence. Students must learn to respect the intellectual property of others, identifying any source they may use, and take responsibility for the originality and authenticity of the texts they produce.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
1. Take-home critical commentary of first- and second-generation Romantic poetry 25% 0 0 1, 24, 5, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 6, 12, 13, 14, 3, 19, 15, 16, 23, 25, 26, 2
2. Short take-home writing assignment on Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" 20% 0 0 1, 24, 5, 9, 10, 11, 6, 12, 13, 14, 3, 15, 16, 23, 25, 26, 2
3. Essay on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" 45% 0 0 1, 24, 5, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 6, 12, 13, 14, 3, 15, 16, 23, 25, 26, 2
4. Class participación 10% 0 0 1, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 6, 13, 14, 17, 20, 18, 19, 21, 22, 2

Bibliography

UNITS 1-2 (Romantic Poetry): 

Abrams, M. H. (ed.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature, volume 2, Norton & Company, 1986.

Webs

UNIT 3 (Mary Shelley): Frankenstein. (Oxford University Press, 2008 [1818], Ed. M. K. Joseph). http://bit.ly/FKNSTN.

UNIT 4: (Jane Austen). Pride and Prejudice. (Oxford University Press, 2008 [1813], Ed. James Kinsley). http://bit.ly/PR_PR.

 

All texts read on this course can be found in electronic format on the Digital Bibliography for Romanticism through the following link: http://blogs.uab.cat/romanticismbibliography

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OTHER RECOMMENDED TEXTS

 

Annotated Anthologies of Romantic Literature

Kermode, Frank et. al. (eds.), The Oxford Anthology of English Literaturevolume II. “1800 to the Present”, OUP, 1973.

Martin, Brian (ed.),  “The Nineteenth Century (1798-1900)”, Macmillan Anthologies of English Literature, volume4, Macmillan, 1989.

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Histories of English Literature

Baugh, Albert C. et al, A Literary History of England, 1967.

Ford, Boris (ed.),  From Blake to Byron, the New Pelican Guide to English Literature, volume 5, Penguin Books, 1982.

Sanders, Andrew, The Short Oxford History of English Literature, Clarendon Press, 1994.

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Contexts

Briggs, Asa, A Social History of EnglandWeidenfeld and Nicolson, 1994.

Butler, Marilyn, Romantics, Rebels and Reactionaries, OUP, 1981.

Furet, François (ed.), El Hombre Romántico, Alianza Editorial, 1995.

Hobsbawm, Eric, The Age of Revolution,  Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1972.

Morgan, Kenneth O. (ed.), The Oxford History of Britain, OUP, 1984.

Paz, Octavio, Los Hijos del Limo, Seix Barral, 1987.

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Criticism

Abrams. M.H. (ed.), English Romantic Poets. Modern Essays in Criticism, OUP, London, 1975.

Bloom, Harold, The Visionary Company, Cornell University Press, 1971.

Frye, Northrop, Fearful Symmetry. A Study of William BlakeF, Princeton University Press, 1969.

Jones, AlunR.and Tydeman, William (eds.), Coleridge: The Ancient Mariner and OtherPoems, Casebook Series, Macmillan, 1990.

———. Wordsworth: Lyrical Ballads,Casebook Series, Macmillan, 1988.

Kraft, Elizabeth. "Anna Letitia Barbauld's 'Washing-Day' and the Montgolfier Balloon."Literature and History 4.2 (1995): 25-41.

"Observations on Female Literature in General, Including Some Particulars Relating to Mrs. Montagu and Mrs. Barbauld." The Westminster Magazine (June 1776): 283-285.

Vargo, Lisa. "TheCase of Anna Laetitia Barbauld's "To Mr C[olerid]ge." The Charles Lamb Bulletin New Series No. 102 (April 1998): 55-63.

Watson, J. R., English Poetry of the Romantic Period 1789-1830, Longman Literature in English Series, Longman, 1992.

Wu, Duncan (ed.), A Companion to Romanticism, Blackwell, 1998.

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Jane Austen: Selected Biographies & Critical Studies

Shields, Carol. Jane Austen. London: Phoenix, 2001.

Spence, Jon. Becoming Jane Austen: A Life. London and New York: Hambledon and London, 2003.

Tomalin, Claire. Jane Austen: A Life. (Revised & Updated Edition). London: Penguin, 2000.

Butler, Marilyn. Jane Austen and the War of Ideas. (1987 edition with a revised introduction). Oxford, UK: Oxford UP, 1987.

Copeland, Edward and McMaster, Juliet (Eds). The CambridgeCompanion to Jane Austen. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 1997.

Gard, Roger. Jane Austen’s Novels: The Art of Clarity. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 1992.          

Tanner, Tony. Jane Austen. Hampshire & London: Macmillan Education LTD,1986.

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Historical Context (History, Society, Politics, Religion and Literary Traditions)

Copeland, Edward.“Money”. The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen.Copeland, Edward, and McMaster, Juliet (Eds). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 1997.

———. Women Writing about Money. Women’s Fiction in England, 1790-1820. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 1995

Grundy, Isobel. “Jane Austen and Literary Traditions”. The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Copeland, Edward and McMaster, Juliet (Eds). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 1997.

Kelly, Garry. English Fictionof the Romantic Period, 1789-1830. London & New York: Longman, 1989.

———. “Religion and Politics”. The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Copeland, Edward, and McMaster, Juliet (Eds). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 1997.

———. “Romantic Fiction”. Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism. Stuart Curran (Ed). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 1993.

Pool, Daniel. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist—The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England. New York:   Simon and Schuster, 1993.

Sales, Roger. Jane Austen and Representations of Regency England. London and New York: Routledge, 1994.

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Software

The UAB Virtual Campus (https://cv.uab.cat)