The Bounty Saga and British Romanticism

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

This subject will examine a range of texts which have grown up around the topic of the Bounty mutiny. Students will examine poetry, prose and film in order to gain a deeper understanding of why we keep on re-telling this story. Students are asked to develop an understanding of this eighteenth-century story from its contemporary reception in the Romantic period through to the present time. They will consider changes and developments in the narrative as it evolved in the public sphere, paying particular attention to the storyÂs various shapes and forms. Through reading and discussing a number of scholarly articles, students will be introduced to a range of responses to the texts under consideration, including work by race, gender, class, postcolonial and cross-cultural theorists. Students will examine some Âclassic works of Romantic literature as well as some key texts in Enlightenment philosophy about travel and encounter with the ÂotherÂ. They will also read a host of less well-known works, including political polemic, court transcripts, newspaper articles and current controversies surrounding the Pitcairn islanders. Students successfully completing this subject will have developed their knowledge and understanding of this popular story whilst refining their interpretive and research skills to gain a broader knowledge of current critical debates surrounding race, gender, and class.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• have acquired skills in research through competent use of library, and other (including online) information sources; through the successful definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research; Â intelligent and effective communication of knowledge and ideas: through essay preparation, planning and writing as well as tutorial discussion; through effective dissemination of ideas from recommended reading and other relevant information sources; through clear definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research; through confidence to express ideas in public forums; Â time management and planning: through the successful organization of workloads; through disciplined self-direction and the ability to meet deadlines.

• have acquired skills in critical thinking and analysis: through use of recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion; through the questioning of accepted wisdom and the ability to shape and strengthen persuasive judgments and arguments; through attention to detail in reading material; and through openness to new ideas and the development of critical self-awareness;

• have acquired skills through theoretical thinking: through use of recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion; through a productive engagement with relevant methodologies and paradigms in literary studies and the broader humanities;

• have acquired skills in creative thinking: through essay writing and tutorial discussion; through the innovative conceptualising of problems and an appreciation of the role of creativity in critical analysis;

• have acquired skills in social, ethical and cultural understanding: through use of recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion; through the social contextualization of arguments and judgments; through adaptations of knowledge to new situations and openness to new ideas; through the development of critical self-awareness in relation to an understanding of other cultures and practices;

• have acquired skills in intelligent and effective communication of knowledge and ideas: through essay preparation, planning and writing as well as tutorial discussion; through effective dissemination of ideas from recommended reading and other relevant information sources; through clear definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research; through confidence to express ideas in public forums;

• have acquired skills in time management and planning: through the successful organization of workloads; through disciplined self-direction and the ability to meet deadlines.