EN4348 Bodies and Selves in the Renaissance

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 1

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Not automatically available to General Degree students

Planned timetable

1.00 pm - 3.00 pm Tue

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr A C Reynolds

Dr A C Reynolds
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Anna Reynolds (ACR25)

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module will introduce students to literary texts which are concerned with corporeality and selfhood in the Renaissance period. This will offer students advanced study of major Renaissance texts, many of which are taught at sub-honours level, while encouraging an innovative approach to sources. Works by Rabelais, Spenser, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Webster, Lanyer and others will be explored alongside a variety of contemporaneous material including early modern medical, physiological, and philosophical texts. The aim of this course is to place the relationship between the body, the self, and sensory experience at the heart of our understanding of Renaissance literature. We will consider problems including: the relationship between body, mind, and language in the early modern period; the ways in which culture and society shape embodied life; the religious dimensions of bodily and sensory experience. Students should be prepared for an intense programme of primary and secondary reading and for heavily discussion-based seminars. Assessment will be by a progression of essays; there is no exam. (Group B)

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS EN2003 AND PASS EN2004

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

exam = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

2-hour seminar and 2 optional consultative hours.

Scheduled learning hours

40

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

260

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate sophisticated close reading skills and an understanding of Renaissance vocabulary and literary models
  • Demonstrate a knowledge of the critical field surrounding bodies and selves in Renaissance literature
  • Demonstrate an ability to make links between a variety of textual forms
  • Use databases such as Early English Books Online and the English Short Title Catalogue with confidence