Reverberations of Terror: 1789-1900

Subject 106-230 (2009)

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

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 2 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Semester 2, - 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


Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
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 pts of first year English.

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

Coordinator

Dr Clara Tuite, Dr Grace Moore

Contact

Grace Moore

gmoo@unimelb.edu.au

and

Clara Tuite

clarat@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview:

This subject introduces nineteenth-century political writing, tracing the cultures of radicalism, reaction and liberal reform that emerged after the Napoleonic Wars. It focuses on the age of mass resistance, and the often-fearful reactions dissent inspired in social and political elites. Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities exemplifies the terror reverberating throughout the century, with its graphic crowd scenes and depictions of the underclass in revolt. Beginning with Mansfield Park and closing with the New Woman‚ novel of the fin de sicle, we will examine literary responses to political issues including Abolitionism, the Napoleonic Wars, the heroic age of popular radicalism, the Peterloo Massacre, the French revolutions (1830 and 1848), Chartism, the Indian Mutiny‚ and the emergence of the women's movement. Students will address concerns including the rise of realism and its overtly political agenda. They will consider fiction, poetry and political prose to discover how these different media informed each other. Students will encounter polemical writing alongside well-known canonical texts to gain an overview of the political climate of the long nineteenth century. On completion of this subject students will have gained an understanding of how this time of great change and uncertainty was captured in poetry and prose.

Objectives: gain an overview of the writing of the ‘long’ nineteenth century from 1789 to the 1890s;
consier the literature of revolution and reform;
examine the social, political and economic context of a range of canonical texts;
introeuction to less well-known nineteenth-century writers, including ‘Corn Law Rhymers’ and Chartist poets;
ability to discuss and write about nineteenth-century texts in a sophisticated manner;
have acquired a transportable set of interpretive skills;
have developed the capacity for independent research;
have developed the capacity for critical thinking and analysis;
have developed the ability to communicate in writing.
Assessment:

A 2000 word essay, 50% (due mid-semester), and a 2000 word essay, 50% (due at the end of the semester). A minmum tutorial attendance of 80%, a class presentation, and participation in class discussion are required to pass the subject.

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:

A subject reader containing primary material and critical essays, including poetry by Byron, P.B. Shelley'‚s The Masque of Anarchy, England in 1819, Chartist poetry by Ebenezer Elliott and Ernest Jones and prose by Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin will be available.

  • Mansfield Park, 1814 (J Austen)
  • The Red and the Black, 1830 (Stendhal)
  • Mary Barton 1848 (E Gaskell)
  • A Tale of Two Cities 1859 (C Dickens)
  • A Sentimental Education: The Story of a Young Man 1869 (G Flaubert)
  • The Princess Casamassima 1886 (H James)
  • The Soul of Man Under Socialism 1891 (O Wilde)
  • Gallia 1895 (M M Dowie)
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:
  • acquire the following skills: research: through competent use of library, and other (including online) information sources; through the successful definition of areas of inquiry and methods of research;

  • 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;

  • 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;

  • 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;

  • 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;

  • 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;

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

Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: English
English
English
English Literary Studies Major

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