School of English
Module manager: Dr Richard Salmon
Email: r.salmon@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2013/14
ENGL3875
This module is not approved as an Elective
This module explores the development of the novel during the early-Victorian period, focussing primarily on the decade of the 1840s. It traces the emergence of some of the most distinctive and influential forms of Victorian fiction, including the serialized novel, realist fiction (so-called 'industrial' or 'social-problem' novels), the bildungsroman (novel of education) and related forms of auto/biographical fiction, and the gothic romance. The module considers the first generation of Victorian novelists in terms of their transitional significance as the first post-Romantic writers of the nineteenth century.
The module aims to examine the development of the novel during the early-Victorian period. Focussing primarily on the decade of the 1840s, it traces the emergence of some of the most distinctive and influential forms of Victorian fiction, including the serialized novel, realist fiction (so-called 'industrial' or 'social-problem' novels), the bildungsroman (novel of education) and related forms of auto/biographical fiction, and the gothic romance. The module also considers the first generation of Victorian novelists in terms of their transitional significance as post-Romantic writers.
The module will provide students with a detailed understanding of the emergence of the Victorian novel as a literary form, encompassing a variety of genres. It will also provide an extensive knowledge of the early-Victorian period (1830s to 1850s), both in terms of its major literary concerns and its relation to earlier and later periods of the nineteenth century.
- Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
- Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
- Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
- Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
- Critical reasoning.
- Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
- IT skills.
- Time management and organisational skills.
- Independent learning.
The module will feature a selection of texts by some of the most important early-Victorian novelists, including Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, Elizabeth Gaskell, and the Brontës.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 185 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 15 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
- Teaching will be through weekly seminars (10 x 1 hour), plus up to 5 additional hours (content to be determined by the module tutor). Additional time is given for the return of unassessed/assessed essays and feedback.
Private study time will be focussed on reading primary and secondary material to prepare for seminars (a secondary reading list is provided in addition to the list of set texts) and the required essay assessment.
- Contribution to seminars
- Unassessed essay (week 7).
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | 4,000 words | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
One unassessed essay of 1,700 words is required. This does not form part of the assessment for this module, but is a requirement and MUST be submitted. Students who fail to submit the unassessed essay will be awarded a maximum mark of 40 for the module (a bare Pass).
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 28/02/2014
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