FR4111 Discovering the Renaissance: Imitation, Interpretation and Imagination

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

15

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

To be arranged.

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

Module coordinator

Dr E Herdman

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

Module Staff

Dr E Herdman

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

Module description

The sixteenth century is a time of invention and discovery: it is a time of broadening horizons, both literally - following Columbus's discovery of the New World - and metaphorically, as the wide-scale dissemination of knowledge becomes possible through the new medium of print. Yet it is also a time of instability and conflict, marked by the invention of gunpowder and by the growing schism between Catholics and Protestants, culminating in the horrors of the French religious wars. This module introduces students to a range of French Renaissance writers - from the seminal to the quirky - and examines how they respond to these shifting perspectives, which offer exciting intellectual and imaginative possibilities while casting serious doubt on ancient sources of knowledge and belief. The radical shift in literary authority that ensues encapsulates the humanism, scepticism and questions of identity that define the Renaissance.

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

2-hour Written Examination = 60%, Coursework = 40%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

A weekly 1.5-hour seminar, plus optional office hours.

Scheduled learning hours

27

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

Guided independent study hours

123

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

Intended learning outcomes

  • Gain knowledge and understanding of the literature and culture of sixteenth-century France
  • Develop skills in close reading and in critical and comparative analysis
  • Develop research skills in identifying topics and arguments for an essay
  • Develop commentary- and essay-writing skills