THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2024/2025

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures : English Literature

Undergraduate Course: Robert Burns and the Eighteenth Century (ENLI10336)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Literatures, Languages and Cultures CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course places the work of Robert Burns in the context of the main currents of eighteenth-century thought and culture in Britain. It will add a course concentrating on Scottish Literature to the department's existing eighteenth-century provision. The dual purpose of this course is to introduce students to the work of Robert Burns and, by placing his writing in the context of the texts that he read and responded to, to eighteenth-century British culture more generally. Particular attention will be given to the ways in which different genres and modes of writing register the cultural politics of modernity in this period.
Course description The dual purpose of this course is to introduce students to the work of Robert Burns and, by placing his writing in the context of the texts that he read and responded to, to eighteenth-century British culture more generally. Particular attention will be given to the ways in which different genres and modes of writing register the cultural politics of modernity in this period. The course begins by looking at a selection of the genres that Burns inherited from the past, medieval (the 'peasant-brawl' poem with its 'carnival' values), classical (pastoral and satire) and early eighteenth century (verse epistle). It then proceeds to look at Burns's engagement with the categories of more recent, Enlightenment, culture: the poet as 'bard', anxieties regarding the impact of commerce; sentimentalism; and the revaluation of 'liberty' in the context of the French Revolution. The course ends with a discussion of Burns's treatment of sex in the light of Henry Fielding's great novel, Tom Jones.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: ( Literary Studies 1A (ENLI08020) AND Literary Studies 1B (ENLI08021) OR English Literature 1 (ENLI08001) AND Scottish Literature 1 (ENLI08016)) AND ( Literary Studies 2A: English Literature in the World, 1380-1788 (ENLI08024) AND Literary Studies 2B: English Literature in the World, post-1789 (ENLI08025) OR Scottish Literature 2A (ENLI08022) AND Scottish Literature 2B (ENLI08023) AND English Literature 2 (ENLI08003) AND Scottish Literature 2 (ENLI08004))
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites A MINIMUM of 4 college/university level literature courses at grade B or above (should include no more than one introductory level literature course). Related courses such as civilisation or other interdisciplinary classes, Freshman Year Seminars or composition/creative writing classes/workshops are not considered for admission to this course. Applicants should also note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. In making admissions decisions preference will be given to students who achieve above the minimum requirement with the typical visiting student admitted to this course having 4 literature classes at grade A.

** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course **
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes:
In addition to the skills training common to all English Literature Honours-level courses (essay-writing, independent reading, group discussion, oral presentation, small-group autonomous learning) this course aims to develop the student's understanding of:
(i) the development of poetic form in the eighteenth century;
(ii) the interrelationships between verse, fiction and philosophical writing in this period;
(iii) the relationship of literary writing to the politics of Britain and empire in this period.
Reading List
Robert Burns, Selected Poems and Songs ed. Robert P. Irvine (World¿s Classics 2013).

David Fairer and Christine Gerrard, eds, Eighteenth-Century Poetry: An Annotated Anthology. Second Edition (Blackwell 2004).

Christopher MacLachlan, ed. Before Burns: Eighteenth-Century Scottish Poetry (Canongate 2002).

Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling ed. Thomas Keymer and Alice Wakely (Penguin 2005). PLEASE be sure to buy this edition of the novel: the most reliable text, usefully annotated. Class discussion of such a long text is greatly facilitated if we are all looking for the same page numbers.

John Gay, The Beggar¿s Opera ed. Bryan Loughrey and T.O. Treadwell (Penguin 1986)

Henry Mackenzie, The Man of Feeling ed. Brian Vickers (World¿s Classics 2001)
Additional Information
Course URL https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/english-literature/undergraduate/current/honours
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Additional Class Delivery Information 2-hour seminar per week for 10 weeks: plus attendance at Autonomous Learning Group each week - at time to be arranged.
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Robert Irvine
Tel: (0131 6)50 3605
Email: R.P.Irvine@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs June Cahongo
Tel: (0131 6)50 3620
Email: J.Cahongo@ed.ac.uk
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information