Module ENGL53130: Renaissance Humanism

Department: English Studies

ENGL53130: Renaissance Humanism

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• to enable students to engage directly with some of the most influential writings of the Renaissance (e.g. the works of Petrarch, Boccaccio, Pico, Ficino, Machiavelli, Castiglione, Erasmus, More);
• to enhance students' appreciation of Renaissance English literature by introducing them to the dominant intellectual and literary movement of the Early-Modern Period;

Content

Learning Outcomes

• to be able to trace Humanist themes and debates in a range of works of imaginative literature;
• to be able to reflect on: the uses of Antiquity; the Renaissance 'Philosophy of Man'; the emergence of a 'Republic of Letters' (Respublica litterarum); and the relations between 'Renaissance Humanism', the Reformation and modern senses of the word 'humanism';

• to write competent essays on questions raised by this module;

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One essay (2,000 words maximum).

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University