Course overview
The Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley proclaimed poets the unacknowledged legislators of the world. But can poetry, by which Shelley means literature more broadly, really change the world? In this introductory course, students will read some influential works in English literary history, and encounter debates about the function, power and reach of literary texts that will lead them to consider whether literature can truly effect change in the real world. Students will examine a variety of texts and genres, including novels, life writing, drama, and poetry, together with contemporary approaches to reading them. The course will develop the skills essential to English literary studies, including a discipline-specific vocabulary, and skills in literary and critical analysis, grammatically correct written expression, and research.
Course learning outcomes
- Confidently read and understand a range of literary texts from different cultural and historical moments, including Australian indigenous literature.
- Build close reading skills through developing an understanding of the literary terminology specific to the discipline of literary studies.
- Undertake basic research and apply it in a cogent and well-written argument that engages in scholarly debate about the effects, range and power of literary texts.
- Use technologies relevant to the Unversity learning environment.
- Work with others in the exploration of ideas and collectively negotiate solutions to problems.