Undergraduate Course: Discourses of Desire: Sex, Gender, and the Sonnet Sequence in Tudor and Stuart England. (ENLI10298)

Course Outline
School	School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate)	Availability	Available to all students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	Generally acknowledged to be the most difficult verse form, the sonnet flourished in England from the late sixteenth to the early seventeenth centuries. Initially entering the English language via Wyatt and Surrey's translations of individual poems from the Italian poet Petrarch's Canzoniere, the form of the sonnet was most famously honed and adapted for English usage by Sidney, Spenser and Shakespeare. While obviously poetic in form, the sonnet sequence is simultaneously a narrative. Traditionally, the Petrarchan origins of the sonnet sequence have been perceived as establishing the conventions of the genre as the articulation of the male poet-personae's love for an absent and/or unattainable woman. While this is complicated by Shakespeare's dual audience of a ?fair youth and a ?dark lady, until recently it was taken for granted that women were only the recipients or objects of such literature. The ubiquity of sonnet writing famously caused Virginia Woolf to ponder the perennial puzzle of 'why no woman wrote a word of that extraordinary literature when every other man, it seemed, was capable of song or sonnet' (A Room of One's Own). Yet more recent research reveals that the first and the final such sequences in English were written by women. By examining the similarities and differences between the form, content and structure of sonnet sequences by Locke, Sidney, Daniel, Spenser, Shakespeare and Wroth, this course will result in an understanding of the gendered historical development of the sonnet sequence. By examining texts by both male and female authors, this course will also explore how (or if) the sex of the writer influences the way in which desire is articulated and to what extent this has political implications.
Course description	Not entered

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites	It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed English Literature 1 (ENLI08001) OR Scottish Literature 1 (ENLI08016) AND English Literature 2 (ENLI08003) OR Scottish Literature 2 (ENLI08004)	Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None
Additional Costs	Essential Course Texts

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 admissions 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 Section directly for admission to this course

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: 15
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 176 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 75 %, Coursework 25 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	One term essay (2500 words) (25%); and one two-hour examination (75%) Visiting Student Variant Assessment One term essay (2500 words) (25%); and one 3,000 word take-home exam essay (75%)
Feedback	Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)			2:00

Academic year 2015/16, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)		Quota: 3
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 176 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 75 %, Coursework 25 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	One term essay (2500 words) (25%); and one two-hour examination (75%) Visiting Student Variant Assessment One term essay (2500 words) (25%); and one 3,000 word take-home exam essay (75%)
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
- An understanding of the historical development of the sonnet sequence in the Tudor and Stuart periods. - An ability to engage in detail with the various formal properties of the sonnet/sonnet sequences. - A capacity to explore the significance of sexual difference in Tudor and Stuart authorship strategies. - An awareness of the political inflections of the articulation of desire during this period.

Reading List
None

Additional Information
Course URL	http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/english-literature/undergraduate/current/honours
Graduate Attributes and Skills	Not entered
Special Arrangements	Numbers are limited to 15, with priority given to students taking degrees involving English or Scottish Literature and Visiting Students placed by the Admissions Office. Students not in these categories need the written approval of the Head of English Literature before enrolling. In the case of excess applications places will be decided by ballot.
Additional Class Delivery Information	1 hour(s) per week for 10 week(s). Autonomous Learning Group one hour a week at times to be arranged.
Keywords	Not entered