Undergraduate Course: Literary Studies 2B: English Literature in the World, post-1789 (ENLI08025)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course aims to introduce students to different methods of reading literature historically. In order to learn how to place specific textual representations in their wider social and intellectual contexts, students will examine a range of literary genres, encompassing both canonical and non-canonical texts from the late eighteenth century to the late twentieth century. The texts have been selected to encourage critical engagement with the global dimensions of 'English Literature'. |
| Course description |
Each week two lectures will provide an introduction to key texts, with a broad overview of the relevant literary and historical context. They will also explain appropriate terminology and demonstrate how this is used in practice. To consolidate your understanding, you will undertake regular, formative exercises both individually and in small groups to prepare for broader discussion in weekly hour-long tutorials. In weeks 1 to 5 of the course, you will study literature from the eighteenth century and the Romantic period. In weeks 6 to 11 of the course, you will study Victorian and Modernist literature. Following Literary Studies 2A, the combination of these two courses have been designed to give you a grounding in the history of English Literature from its beginnings in the Middle Ages all the way through to the twentieth century. This sustained exploration of the relationship between literature and history will prove to be foundational to your continuing studies in the subject, in your Honours years and beyond.
Essential book-length texts (and recommended editions) for the course are as follows (where possible, digital editions of primary texts will be provided):
- Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, ed. by Claude Rawson and Ian Higgins. Oxford World's Classics edition (Oxford University Press, 2008)
- Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews and Shamela, ed. Thomas Keymer. Oxford World's Classics edition (Oxford University Press, 2008)
- Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, ed. Thomas Keymer. Oxford World's Classics edition (Oxford University Press, 2024)
- Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life, ed. Deborah E. McDowell. Oxford World's Classics edition (Oxford University Press, 2009)
- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, ed. Margaret Smith. Oxford World's Classics edition (Oxford University Press, 2019)
- Claude MacKay, Home to Harlem (Penguin Books, 2025)
- Samuel Beckett, Endgame (Faber, 2009)
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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) OR
Scottish Literature 1 (ENLI08016)
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | AH/A level English or Scottish Literature or equivalent
Students on the English and Scottish Literature pathways must have taken Literary Studies 1A and 1B. For students who took First Year courses prior to session 2021-22, a pass in English Literature 1 (ENLI08001) or Scottish Literature 1 (ENLI08016) is an acceptable equivalent.
Students on an English or Scottish Literature pathway must also take Literary Studies 2A.
Students taking Literary Studies 2B as an outside subject must also take Literary Studies 2A |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 310 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
- Coursework Essay (40%) [LO 1, 3, 4]
1,600-word essay; take-home, time limited assessment, on one text chosen from weeks 1 to 5.
- Final 2-hour Examination (60%) [LO 1, 2, 3, 4]
Section A: A close-reading of one text selected from a range of extracts from eighteenth-century and Romantic course texts.
Section B: A critical response to an essay question comparing at least two works from the Victorian and Modernist course texts. |
| Feedback |
Individual preparation (weekly) LO 1, 2, 4
Autonomous Learning Groups (weekly) LO 1, 2 |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Literary Studies 2B: English Literature in the World, post-1789 | 120 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- critically examine how literary texts from the eighteenth century through to Romanticism reflect and interrogate critical, social and historical contexts
- critically examine how literary texts from the nineteenth century through to the twentieth century reflect and interrogate critical, social and historical contexts
- understand major formal developments in their literary historical contexts
- evaluate and apply critical approaches relevant to the study of literary texts in their historical contexts
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Confident critical thinking skills, including the ability to define, understand and assess evidence from multiple sources to make balanced, reasoned judgements;
Flexible self-management capabilities including taking responsibility for learning, by using a range of study skills including digital skills with the confidence to work effectively online and remotely, e.g. taking part in online meetings, collaborating and supporting others online, managing a workload;
Confident communication capabilities in weekly tutorials, with the ability to exchange information in different ways including verbal, non-verbal and in written form;
Flexible collaboration and teamwork. |
| Keywords | Literary studies,historical context,poetry,drama,prose |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Peter Adkins
Tel: (0131 6)51 7112
Email: Peter.Adkins@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Lina Gordyshevskaya
Tel:
Email: pgordysh@ed.ac.uk |
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