Romanticism, Feminism, Revolution

This subject is not offered in 2016.

Total expected time commitment is 170 hours across the semester, including class time.

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106-218 Romanticism, Feminism, Revolution

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject examines Romanticism from the perspective of the massive, though long neglected, cultural force of women writers and readers in the late-18 th and early-19 th centuries. It locates the emergence of feminism in this historical context, when, in the wake of the French revolution, changing notions of literature, culture, sexuality and emancipation gave rise to the first concerted articulation of feminist ideas in modern European culture. Through close readings of some of the best writers of the last two centuries – Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, Charlotte Smith, Mary Robinson, Mary Wollstonecraft, Anna Barbauld, and others – students will gain a firm understanding of the literary, philosophical and cultural foundations of Romanticism and early Feminism, movements that have played key roles in the construction of the modern world.

Students who complete this subject should be able to:

• demonstrate a detailed knowledge of some of the key texts, genres, interpretative strategies, and textual strategies of Romanticism and early Feminism;
• relate these ideas and practices to the revolutionary social, economic, and political changes of the 1790s;
• understand the roles played by Romanticism and early Feminism in the construction of the modern world;
• apply recent arguments from the study of Romanticism and early Feminism in the interpretation of literary texts;
• generate original critical readings of Romantic and early Feminist texts, and communicate these in extended argumentative prose.

An essay of 1500 words 40% (due mid-semester) and an essay of 2500 words 60% (due in the examination period).

This subject has a minimum hurdle requirement of 80% attendance and regular participation in tutorials. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

• Romance of the Forest Ann Radcliffe, Oxford World Classics
• Vindication of the Rights of Woman Mary Wollstonecraft, Penguin
• Memoirs of Emma Courtney Mary Hays, Oxford World Classics
• The Last Man Mary Shelley, Oxford World Classics
• Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte, Oxford World Classics
• Persuasion Jane Austen,Penguin

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

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

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.

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

• acquire 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;
• acquire 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;
• acquire skills in creative thinking through essay writing and tutorial discussion; through the innovative conceptualizing of problems and an appreciation of the role of creativity in critical analysis;
• acquire skills in social, ethical and cultural understanding through use of recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion; through the social contextualisation 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.

Students who have completed 670-340 Romanticism, Feminism,Revolution are not eligible to enrol in this subject.