Beowulf

Subject 106-013 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 3 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2009.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: A 1.5-hour lecture and a 1-hour tutorial per week
Total Time Commitment: Not available
Prerequisites:

Usually 12.5 points of first year English and completion of 106-024 Introduction to Old English A and 106-029 Introduction to Old English B.
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Contact

Bernard Muir

bjem@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview:

This is an advanced course in Old English in which the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf will be read in the original. Students completing this subject successfully will have achieved a deeper understanding of the subtleties of Old English, enabling them to perceive rhetorical figures, formal structures and narrative strategies in medieval literature; will have an understanding of the perceived essential elements of Western epic and of how new works in the tradition draw upon and/or work against generic expectation; and will have studied the impact of Christianity on the traditional pagan Germanic heroic ethos.
Objectives: students who successfully complete this susbject will have read selections from Beowulf, the earliest surviving English epic;
have achieved a deeper understanding of the subtleties of Old English, enabling them to perceive rhetorical figures, formal structures and narrative strategies in medieval literature;
have an understanding of the perceived essential elements of Western epic and of how new works in the tradition draw upon and/or work against generic expectation;
have become familiar with the heroic ethos of the Anglo-Saxons, and have seen how extended narrative developed from an embryonic presence in earlier, shorter, (oral) literary forms (i. e. lays, panegyric, eulogy);
have studied the impact of Christianity on the traditional pagan Germanic heroic ethos.
Assessment:

A journal of 2000 words 50% (due at the end of semester) a 2000 word essay 50% (due mid-semester). Students are required to attend a minimum of 80% of classes in order to qualify to have their written work assessed.

Note: Assessment submitted late without an approved formal extension will be penalised at 2% per day. Students who fail to submit up to 2-weeks after the final due date without a formal extension and/or special consideration will receive a fail grade for the piece of assessment.
Prescribed Texts:

Prescribed Texts:

  • Beowulf (B Mitchell & F Robinson), Blackwell 1998
  • Beowulf (R Liuzza), Broadview Press 2000
Breadth Options:

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:

  • have the ability to develop critical self-awareness and the capacity to shape persuasive arguments;

  • have the ability to apply research skills (especially in library and online resources) and critical methods to an emerging field of inquiry;

  • have the ability to communicate arguments and ideas effectively and articulately, both in writing and in group discussions;

  • have detailed readings of a range of texts in different media;

  • have the ability to think critically about the relations between academic and popular forms of knowledge of the past.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Ancient and Medieval Studies
Ancient and Medieval Studies
Ancient, Medieval && Early Modern Studies Major
English
English
English
English Language Studies Major
English Literary Studies Major
European Studies

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