Module Information

Module Identifier
ENM1120
Module Title
Medieval Dreams and Marvels
Academic Year
2019/2020
Co-ordinator
Dr Malte Urban
Semester
Semester 1
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Seminar 10 x 2 Hour Seminars
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Essay Assignment  1 x 5000 word essay  100%
Supplementary Assessment Resubmit Essay Assignment  1 x 5000 word essay  100%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of a range of dream visions produced during the late medieval period.

2. Situate late medieval dream visions in their historical, social, political, and religious contexts.

3. Engage with relevant theoretical approaches as appropriate.

4. Discuss late medieval dream visions in a critically-informed, focused, and well-structured manner

Aims

Building upon staff expertise and recent developments in the field, this module introduces students to a range of late medieval dream visions. The range of texts studied allows for a variety of approaches that examine the material in a broadly historicist way. Where appropriate, digitized manuscript witnesses will be examined and the module includes discussions of current critical and theoretical debates.

Brief description

This module offers students a detailed overview of the concepts of dreaming and the marvellous in the literature of late medieval England. Dream visions are one of most widely used literary forms in late medieval literature and they offer insights into the medieval imagination as one that not only tackles literary traditions but also deals with flying eagles, vengeful gods, squabbling birds, grief and reanimated corpses.

The module approaches these texts from a broadly historicist angle, examining their involvement in debates on court politics, rebellion and revolt and the tensions arising from social changes in the aftermath of the Black Death. In addition to historicism, the module explores the validity of current critical approaches such as queer theory, psychoanalysis and trauma studies for the study of late medieval literature in the 21st century.

Content

Session 1: Introduction
Session 2: Geoffrey Chaucer, The House of Fame
Session 3: Geoffrey Chaucer, The Parliament of Fowls
Session 4: Geoffrey Chaucer, Book of the Duchess and ‘Prologue’ to The Legend of Good Women
Session 5: John Gower, ‘Book I’, Vox clamantis
Session 6: Pearl
Session 7: William Langland, Piers Plowman
Session 8: William Langland, Piers Plowman
Session 9: St. Erkenwald
Session 10: Revision and assessment advice

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number N/A
Communication Written: by expressing ideas in coherent ways. Oral: through class discussion and small group activities.
Improving own Learning and Performance Through independent and directed research and reading. By engaging with assessment feedback in order to raise attainment.
Information Technology By using word processing packages, using AberLearn Blackboard and other electronic resources, submitting assignment’s via Turnitin.
Personal Development and Career planning Through developing critical self-reflection and the development of transferable, ICT, communication and research skills.
Problem solving By evaluative analysis and the use of critical skills
Research skills By directed and independent research and synthesizing information in critically evaluative ways.
Subject Specific Skills Through the reading, writing and researching skills involved in the study of language change. Through the use of and understanding language change for analyses of literary texts
Team work Students will have the opportunity to work in teams for some group activities.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7