Postgraduate Course: Renaissance Scepticism (ENLI11086)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | English Literature |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course will explore how the revival of sceptical thought in the Renaissance affected a range of key literary works. The course will investigate the development of sceptical thinking from the early sixteenth century in terms of some of its core preoccupations: problems of perception and trust, religious divisions, the nature and existence of God, sexual difference, the role of intellectuals within the State, the status of non-European cultures. The ways in which literary texts explore these questions will be examined especially in relation to their adoption of sceptical modes of composition. A range of different literary forms will considered - the essay, lyric poetry, satire, dramatic comedies and tragedies - along with a range of English and European writers, including Thomas More, Machiavelli, Montaigne, Marlowe, John Donne, Shakespeare and Francis Bacon. Students will also explore how contemporary philosophers and critics have engaged with the varieties of Renaissance scepticism and the current debate over its legacy in the work of Derrida, Stanley Cavell and Victoria Kahn.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who complete the course successfully will have explored some of the ways in which Renaissance writing responded to the challenges presented by sceptical thought. By reading a range of different literary forms they will understand how different elements within the sceptical tradition could be appropriated and developed. Students will also have examined the continuing debate provoked by this mode of thinking in contemporary critical thought.
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Assessment Information
| One 4,000 word essay to be submitted as specified in the programme handbook or by the supervisor |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Renaissance literature Renaissance philosophy scepticism |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Dermot Cavanagh
Tel: (0131 6)50 3618
Email: Dermot.Cavanagh@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Kate Marshall
Tel: (0131 6)50 4114
Email: Kate.Marshall@ed.ac.uk |
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