Unit information: Old English Language and Literature in 2024/25

Unit name	Old English Language and Literature
Unit code	ENGL20065
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Kate McClune
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

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

The Old English unit offers you the opportunity to study English literature from its earliest written stages, up to the present day as we examine modern responses and interpretations of the work. Through a combination of literary analysis, translation, and cultural and historical exploration, you will open up your understanding about the period before the Norman Conquest. We will read and translate noted texts such as ‘Beowulf’, but will also study lesser-known pieces that reveal much about relationships in Old English, between lords and retainers, husbands and wives, and God and his faithful. This is accompanied by close study of the cultural contexts of the poems: we will consider the creation, content, and circulation of poetic manuscripts, and place this against the historical reality: how conscious were these poets of Viking attacks? How are they presented in the literature? What does it mean to be ‘English’ before 1066? We conclude with an examination of modern responses, from literary texts including John Gardner’s Grendel, to film and TV adaptations that might include Robert Zemeckis Beowulf (2007) or the TV series Vikings (2013-20). By the end of the unit, you will be confident with the original language, and will have honed your independent research and interpretative skills with the help of online facsimiles of manuscripts.

How does this unit fit into your programme of study?

Exploration units offer thought-provoking and engaging investigations into key topics, including period-focused, thematic, and trans-historical options. You will hone your abilities as a researcher able to navigate skilfully a range of databases and archives, as well as engaging effectively with more advanced critical and theoretical perspectives. Exploration units ask you to both rethink the familiar and meet the unexpected, and encourage you to develop depth as well as breadth of critical understanding.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

Students will encounter a wide variety of primary course material, initially in translation but as they grow in confidence, in the original language. Seminars will comprise close reading and prepared translation, and broader discussion of literary themes and preoccupations. This is complemented by the lecture content, delivered by a variety of expert lecturers, which will introduce the student to the wider context behind the literature: asking questions that will broaden student knowledge, such as:

• What was the relationship between the inhabitants of England and the Viking invaders?
• What constituted treasure in this period, how was it used, circulated, and deployed?
• What was it like to be a woman
• How important was religion
• How do modern audiences respond to or redeploy Old English works? Here, we do not just focus on literary and film adaptations, but also examine political exploitation of the idea of ‘Anglo-Saxon England’, looking at the more sinister ways in which English history has been redeployed to support particular political beliefs.

How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit

Their engagement with this unit will hone a number of skills, and introduce new ones. They will confidently assess a variety of source materials, from poetry to sculpture to treasure, to 21st century responses. Their understanding of the original language will allow them to examine the literature in the original language with the aid of glossaries and online supports. They will complete the unit with a more nuanced understanding of pre-Conquest literature and society, and by thinking about the challenging issues around the exploitation of the iconography, language, and legend of the period, will understand the ways in which the discipline continues to be relevant in modern society.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Recognise the principles of Old English grammar and translate examples of Old English poetry into idiomatic modern English with the aid of notes and glossary;
2. Identify and appraise major currents of Old English written culture in relation to what can be known of the social, religious and aesthetic contexts of its production;
3. Recognise and analyse typical and distinctive features of specific passage of Old English poetry;
4. Engage with the nature and diversity of the reception of Old English literature in present day society and criticism.

How you will learn

The unit is taught by seminars and a lecture programme. Teaching includes group discussion, research and writing activities, and peer dialogue. Students are expected to attend all timetabled teaching, engage with the reading, and participate fully with the weekly tasks and topics. Learning will be further supported through the opportunity for individual consultation.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):

Completion of grammar exercises in Old English, delivered on-line through Xerte within Blackboard. These exercises do not contribute to your unit mark but you must complete them in order to pass the unit.

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

Translation portfolio (30%) [ILOs 1,3].

2,500 word essay (70%) [ILOs 1-4].

When assessment does not go to plan

When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the year.

Resources

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. ENGL20065).

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.