Undergraduate Course: From 'Fact' to 'Fiction': Women's Life Writing and the Rise of the Novel, c. 1650-1750 (ENLI10316)
Course Outline
School |
School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College |
College of Humanities and Social Science |
Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Available to all students |
Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits |
20 |
Home subject area |
English Literature |
Other subject area |
None |
Course website |
None |
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Course description |
?It is a truth (nearly) universally acknowledged among literary historians and theorists that women played a special role in the rise of the novel= (Josephine Donovan). However, the exact nature of that special connection remains a matter of debate. One currently under-examined link is that between the ?factual= accounts of women=s lives which began to be published in the mid-seventeenth century and the later ?fictional= versions of them produced by early novelists including Defoe, Richardson and Fielding. Defending their political, religious or (predominantly) sexual reputations women=s ?factual= life-writing from this period often deploys the ?fictional= conventions of romance, the criminal biography, or the scandal memoir. Conversely, many early novelists drew on these ?factual= lives to create their ?fictional= subjects. This course will enable students to explore the connections between texts written by both men and women which purport to represent women=s lives. This will simultaneously require an interrogation of the theoretical debates (literary and historical) regarding the complex relationship between ?fact= and ?fiction=. |
Entry Requirements
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites |
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Prohibited Combinations |
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Other requirements |
None
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Additional Costs |
Essential Course Texts |
Course Delivery Information
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Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
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WebCT enabled: No |
Quota: None |
Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
No Classes have been defined for this Course |
First Class |
First class information not currently available |
Additional information |
1 hour(s) per week for 9 week(s). |
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Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
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WebCT enabled: No |
Quota: None |
Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
No Classes have been defined for this Course |
First Class |
First class information not currently available |
Additional information |
1 hour(s) per week for 9 week(s). |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
- An understanding of the development of narrative forms c. 1650-1750.
- An insight into the emergence of a particular conception of female subjectivity.
- A deeper understanding of the theoretical issues at stake in the division between "fact" and "fiction".
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Assessment Information
1 Class Essay (25%); 1 two hour Examination (75%)
Visiting Student Variant Assessment
One class essay (25%); one take home exam essay (75%) |
Please see Visiting Student Prospectus website for Visiting Student Assessment information |
Special Arrangements
Not entered |
Contacts
Course organiser |
Dr Suzanne Trill
Tel: (0131 6)50 4291
Email: S.Trill@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary |
Mrs Anne Mason
Tel: (0131 6)50 3618
Email: Anne.Mason@ed.ac.uk |
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copyright 2010 The University of Edinburgh -
1 September 2010 6:01 am
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