SHAKESPEARE, SOCIETY AND IDENTITY - 2020/1

Module Overview

This module introduces students to the advanced study of Shakespeare’s plays, designed to build on their existing knowledge. The module introduces students to a range of different approaches to the texts while engaging in contemporary debates in Shakespeare studies. Teaching will be based on the tutor’s original research as published in five scholarly monographs. The module is partially structured around three broad themes: history, psychology, and morality. Students will study some of Shakespeare’s best known works, such as the four major tragedies (King Lear, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth), Richard III, and Measure for Measure, as well as relatively lesser known plays such as Titus Andronicus, Timon of Athens, and Henry VI Parts 2 and 3. They will be asked to engage with scholarship and criticism in order to come to their own informed and sophisticated interpretations of the texts.

Module provider

School of Literature and Languages

Module Leader

WYNNE-DAVIES Marion (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

none

Module content

Indicative content may include:

Shakespeare and History (eg: Henry VI Part 2, Henry VI Part 3, Measure for Measure

Shakespeare and Psychology (eg: Richard III, Othello, Hamlet)

Shakespeare and Morality (eg: Timon of Athens, Macbeth, Titus Andronicus, King Lear

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

essay

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the module learning outcomes. Seminar discussion with ongoing tutor feedback is designed to assess professional/practical skills in communicating ideas orally and transferable skills in working individually and collaboratively. It also assesses subject knowledge relating to formal, contextual, critical, and theoretical approaches to Shakespeare. Seminars also assess cognitive/analytical skills in critical thinking and in the analysis of literary form and language. The 2-hour examination assesses subject knowledge relating to the close analysis of form, meaning and language, as well as cognitive/analytical skills in critical thinking, and professional/practical skills in communicating ideas in writing. It also assesses subject knowledge relating to formal, contextual, critical, and theoretical approaches to the study of Shakespeare. The examination further assesses transferable skills, namely the ability to prepare for deadlines and revise in an organised and critical fashion and to develop and communicate imaginative and rigorous arguments.

The summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Examination (2-hours) Formative assessment and feedback Formative ‘feed forward’ is provided through seminar discussion and tutor feedback in seminars.

Module aims

• • Develop students’ understanding of Shakespeare, Shakespeare studies, and their contexts
• • Expand students’ knowledge of Shakespeare, Shakespeare studies, and their contexts
• • Enable students to think critically about how different approaches to the texts open up new horizons for research
• • Encourage students to develop their own critical and scholarly faculties

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to deliver subject knowledge, to develop cognitive/ analytical skills, and to develop in-depth transferable, practical, and professional skills. The delivery of the module through two-hour seminars places an emphasis on student-led learning, and enables students to develop their skills in analysing, communicating, and debating ideas. The module content is research-led and asks students to develop a sophisticated understanding of formal, contextual, critical, and theoretical approaches to the study of Shakespeare studies. This relates to the programme learning and teaching strategy, which, at FHEQ Levels 5, is designed to develop subject knowledge through two-hour seminars and to develop transferable and professional skills, with an emphasis on sophisticated student-led involvement, critical analysis and discussion.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• 1-hour lecture x 11 weeks

• 1 x hour seminar per week x 11 weeks

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ELI2041

Other information

none

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.