MEDIEVAL WOMEN'S WRITING - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module explores the centrality of texts written by and for medieval women to both the history of medieval literature and to women's literary history. You will be introduced to a range of works written for and about women in England between the 11th and 15th centuries and will examine in detail the major female authors writing from the 12th to the 15th centuries, such as the courtly writer Marie de France, the English woman mystic Julian of Norwich, and the visionary Margery Kempe. Texts will be read either in Middle English or in modernized versions, or (in the case of texts written in the French of the English, in translation). The module will explore a range of literary forms and genres, including saints' lives, romance and lais, mystical and visionary writing and women's letters. You will be asked to critically analyse and/or engage creatively with the texts, paying attention to your linguistic, literary, religious and socio- historical contexts and focusing on issues such as antifeminism, social hierarchies, literacy, multingualism and multi-culturalism, and gender and sexuality.

The module provides you with a working knowledge of tools on used by researchers and writers examining and engaging with historically remote literatures and cultures, building on previous modules on global literatures and theories of gender and sexuality. These tools include not only the ability to analyse and critically evaluate texts and ideas, but also to understand them within their wider historical, geographical and social contexts, as well as practical tools of reading and translating Middle English texts.

Module provider

Literature & Languages

Module Leader

WATT Diane (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

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

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

Introduction: Medieval Women’s Writing then and now

Exemplary Lives

Courtly Literature

Anchoritic Literature

Radical Theology

Assessment Preparation and Zine workshop

Visionary Women

Women’s Letters

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy for this module:

The summative assessment consists of:

• A critical essay (3000 words) OR a creative portfolio (2400 words) + critical commentary (600 words)

Through this strategy, the module empowers you to build self-evaluation into assessment process and creates space for you to reflect on own performance whilst reviewing feedback.

The 250-word Commentary or Essay Plan exercise is designed to develop your analytical and planning skills. The formative nature of this assignment, for which the tutor will supply written feedback, enables key skills to be developed in a supportive context, which can be applied to the summative assessment in this and other modules.

The summative Essay OR Creative Portfolio and Commentary is designed to enable you to demonstrate your subject knowledge and the different forms of critical theory used in English literature. You will also have the opportunity to demonstrate your cognitive/analytical skills in critical thinking and in using theory in the close reading of literary texts. The summative exercise will also enable you to demonstrate your practical/professional skills in expressing creative ideas and critical analysis in written communication and to demonstrate your transferable skills in working independently.

The formative assessment consists of;

•  a 250 word essay or critical commentary plan

Module aims

• The module aims to: develop your understanding of medieval women's writing in the context of its cultural, linguistic, historical, global and religious contexts
• expand your knowledge of a range of literary forms and genres
• enable you to think critically about differences and similarities between the distant past the present day
• encourage you to develop your own writing styles and abilities in the light of or by engaging with medieval women's writing

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching methods include a combination of seminars incorporating student presentations and a Zine workshop, captured content, guided learning and independent learning. Captured content is made available prior to workshops in order to facilitate informed discussion in seminars. This is to encourage you to be active participants in seminars, enabling you to develop as informed, confident and engaged independent learners. Zines are traditionally associated with marginal communities and the Zine workshop us designed to encourage to reflect this in a piece of creative work. The Zine workshop also provides an opportunity for self-directed and peer-supported learning. You are also expected to extend your reading beyond the lectures and to make use of additional material provided to support each topic.

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

* Enable you to integrate and further develop the skills and critical thinking you have learnt in previous modules, for example, relating to historical periods and cultures, gender and sexualities, forms and genres, global contexts and theoretical approaches.

* Enable you to engage with different learning backgrounds and maximise your learning by drawing on your own experiences and contributions to group discussions.

* Enable you to develop skills in oral and written communication and in working individually and as part of a group.

* Enable you to develop skills in planning and implementing timetables for work and in presenting ideas coherently under time constraints.

 

 

 

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: ELI3056

Other information

The University is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow you to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in Global and Cultural Capabilities and Resourcefulness and Resilience, and Employability as illustrated above in the Methods of Teaching/Learning and Assessment sections.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: This module focuses specifically on women’s writing in the distant past. You will develop an understanding the inequalities of education and the restrictions on freedom experienced by women.  Factors affecting women’s access to literacy and literary culture in the past are considered, enabling an awareness of the diversity of lived experience of women in history. Invited speakers contribute to a diverse global perspective. You are encouraged to share experiences and knowledge from your own culture and background, and to respect and value differences in experience.

Resourcefulness and Resilience: The module will expose you to texts that reflect the varied and diverse experiences of women in history. In so doing it will encourage reflection on yourself and your own community and society. Studying medieval women’s writing will enable you to see parallels as well as differences between the past and the present day, and to understand the origins of certain religion and scientific views and ideas about gender. It will provide you with a greater understanding of your place in the world. 

Employability: The module includes student seminar presentations and offers the opportunity for for group work and for both critical and creative approaches to learning and assessment through the Zine workshop and the creative assessment option. This will provide you with the opportunity to develop and hone your skills in presentation, collaborative working, and writing to enhance your employability.

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 2025/6 academic year.