| Unit name | Arthurian Literature |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL20060 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Steve De Hailes |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit is devoted to the Arthurian legend as imagined and re-imagined by the major writers of the medieval and post-medieval period. We begin with the first ‘biography of King Arthur’ by the twelfth-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth, before moving on to consider the earliest tales of Arthur in the medieval Welsh tradition and in the French romances of Chrétien de Troyes. Moving to the later medieval period, we will look at Middle English adaptations, including Sir Thomas Malory’s vast and influential Arthurian masterpiece, Le Morte D’Arthur. Shifting our focus to notions of medievalism, we will consider Victorian approaches to the Arthurian legend in works such as Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. We evaluate how Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur’s Court takes Arthurian themes and characters into the modern industrial world, before finally investigating Arthuriana in modern media, including film, television, and literature.
The aim of the unit is to give students a good grounding in Arthurian literature, to develop skills in close reading and in comparative criticism.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will involve asynchronous and synchronous elements, including long- and short-form lectures, group discussion, research and writing activities, and peer dialogue. Students are expected to engage with the reading and participate fully with the weekly tasks and topics. Learning will be further supported through the opportunity for individual consultation.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ENGL20060).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
