Sites of Memory in Early Modern English Writing (P00953)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : LLC-P-P00953

This course will examine the role of memory in the shaping and reshaping of English national identity in the sixteenth century. It will consider how a range of different 'sites' of resonant historical memory are presented in literature; these include personal testimony, individual histories and the histories of events in terms of how these express key elements of national identity. The course will investigate how recollection, report, and testimony feature in a variety of the period's genres of prose, drama, and poetry from the early to the late sixteenth century. It will also consider the presence of 'counter-memories', especially those associated with non-English subjects. This will include those from other countries on the archipelago (Scots, Welsh and Irish) and 'indigenous' inhabitants of the Atlantic World.

Entry Requirements

? Costs : Purchase of essential texts as required.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

English Literature, (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, Schedule G)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 2 hour(s) per week for 1 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Students who successsfully complete the course will have explored the intensification of national consciousness in England in the sixteenth century. They will have read widely in recent critical and historical debates concerning the role of memory in history and literature, and will learn the critical skills required to analyse a range of early modern literary forms. As well as understanding the development of national identity, they will have considered how other identities are excluded or included within English national memory on the grounds of religion or status. They will recognise how issues of gender may contribute to and dissent from the formation of national memory.