Cosmic Pandemonium in Paradise Lost

Subject 106-464 (2008)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2008.Search for this in the current handbookSearch for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.500
Level: Undergraduate
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

Semester 1, - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable

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Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: A 2-hour seminar per week
Total Time Commitment: .
Prerequisites: Usually admission to the postgraduate diploma or honours in English Literary Studies.
Corequisites: .
Recommended Background Knowledge: .
Non Allowed Subjects: .
Core Participation Requirements: .

Coordinator

Marion J Campbell & Justin Clements
Subject Overview:

This subject explores the great revolutions of the English seventeenth century through the prism of John Milton's epic Paradise Lost(1667, 1674). Weekly seminars will offer a close reading of each of the 12 books of the poem in the context of significant political, economic, theological and epistemological breaks exemplified by the English Revolution of 1642. These include the expansion and diversification of radical Protestant and Puritan religious sects; experiments with new forms of government such as the republic and constitutional monarchy; the origins of modern science and technology with Bacon, Galileo and Descartes; transformations in sexual and familial relationships; the development and regulation of new forms of print culture; and the founding of institutions like the Royal Society of London for the Improving of Natural Knowledge (1662). Topics to be covered will include: genre, theology, sex, politics, militarism, education, science, censorship, architecture and aesthetics.

Assessment: An essay of 5000 words 100% (due in the examination period).
Prescribed Texts: A subject reader containing contextual and critical material will be available from the University Bookshop.John Milton (S Orgel and J Goldberg, eds.), Oxford
Recommended Texts:

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Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:

  • be able to apply new research skills and critical methods to a field of inquiry;

  • have developed critical self-awareness and shape and strengthen persuasive arguments;

  • be able to communicate arguments and ideas effectively and articulately, both in writing and to others.
Notes: .
Related Course(s): Postgraduate Certificate in Arts (English Language)
Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (English Literature)

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