LIT201: Literature of the Western World – Medieval and Renaissance

Key details

Overview

This unit examines major works of Western literature from the Middle Ages through to the late Renaissance. The development of a specific Christian literary culture is considered, along with the impact of tensions within Christendom on the development of literature across this period. This unit will build on the contemporary interest in literature as an object of use, asking both what texts meant within their particular contexts, and also how they have been used, and continue to be used, up to the present day. These questions are particularly pressing when literary objects cease being simply objects of study, and are treated as objects of devotion, or as a means to understanding broader truths about the nature of being. Our texts include works by Chaucer, Dante, Francis of Assisi, Shakespeare, and Cervantes, among others.

Learning outcomes

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

a) understand the ways in which texts communicate meaning, through context, content, and use;
b) describe the rhetorical, generic, and linguistic strategies various texts use to produce meaning;
c) identify, describe, and analyse the relationship between various texts and their social, historical, and literary contexts;
d) engage in research, reflection, and critical analysis of course material and set texts
e) communicate in a logical, concise, and coherent manner;
f) write clear, well-structured, and scholarly essays that conform to the referencing and bibliographic standards of academic convention;
g) constructively participate in class discussion by undertaking required readings and engaging as co-learners within the classroom

Interested in other Literature units?

CORE UNITS

LIT101: Composition and Literature
LIT102: Literature of the Western World – Ancient
LIT201: Literature of the Western World – Medieval and Renaissance
LIT202: Literature of the Western World – Milton to Modern

ELECTIVES

LIT301: The Search for Meaning in Twentieth Century Literature
LIT302: Australian Literature
LIT303: The Catholic Imagination in Modern Literature
LIT304: Shakespeare

Interested in other disciplines?

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