Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook
This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.

Postgraduate Handbook 2007-2008 (archived)

Module ENGL53630: Narrative Transformations: Medieval Romance to Renaissance Epic

Department: English Studies

ENGL53630: Narrative Transformations: Medieval Romance to Renaissance Epic

Type Level Credits Availability Module Cap Location
Open 4 30 Available in 2007/2008 Durham

Pre-requisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations

  • None

Aims

  • to introduce students (through a selection of texts) to the theory and practice of fiction from Antiquity to the Renaissance;
  • to explore the processes whereby some of the great story-matters of the Western Tradition have been transformed over the ceturies;

Content

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge
  • to engage critically with a wide range of texts from different periods;
  • to have an enhanced understanding of the complex dynamics which have resulted in the dominant status of ficiton in modern culture;
  • to reflect on the interplay between various genres: epic and romance, history, fable and novel;
Subject-specific Skills
  • to be able to analyse both the mechanics and the implementations of narrative transformations;
Key Skills
  • to write competent essays;

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

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotal HoursAttendance Monitored
Seminars 9 Across 2 terms 2 18
Preparation and Reading 282
Total 300

Summative Assessment

ComponentComponent WeightingElementLength/DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Coursework 100% Essay 3000 words 50%
Essay 3000 words 50%

Formative Assessment

One essay (2,000 words maximum).

Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.