Infopaket

Myths of the Victorian Era

ВБ 1.2.

Вибіркова дисципліна для ОП

Second

2024/2025

3 Semester

4

PLO 18.1, PLO 19.1 The full list of Programme learning outcomes is given in the section "Programme Profile".

Full-time form

- Familiarity with the history of 19th-century English literature is required, as well as an understanding of its national and historical characteristics within the context of other Western literatures and cultural-historical periods. - Students demonstrate an understanding of the socio-economic, cultural and ideological contexts of Queen Victoria’s reign. - Be able to correctly apply basic literary theory concepts and understand their core ideas. - Possess skills in literary analysis and interpretation.

The Victorian era is one of the most significant cultural and historical periods in British history. This course aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the era by examining its characteristic modes of thought and artistic expression. This is primarily achieved by examining the Victorian novel as an emblematic genre of the period (works by Dickens, the Brontë sisters, Wells and other writers), while also considering poetry (works by Tennyson, Rossetti and others). Given the significance of the visual component in Victorian culture, students learn to recognise the forms of expression (including symbolic ones) characteristic of the Victorian era for its leading ideological and thematic complexes and concepts, with the help of the visual arts and photography. Certain elements of the 'Victorian myth' were revived in literature at the turn of the 20^(th) and 21^(st) centuries, shedding light on their significance for British literature and culture. Attention is paid to the neo-Victorian novel (Fowles, Bayatt, etc.), which is regarded as a means of interpreting the 'Victorian myth' from a contemporary perspective whilst also illuminating contemporary issues. The course is taught using various methodological approaches, including cultural-historical, myth criticism, gender studies, cultural studies, intermedial and intertextual approaches.

The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1830-1914. Cambridge University Press. 2010. The Cambridge Companion to Victorian Culture. Cambridge University Press 2010. The Oxford Handbook of the Victorian Novel. Oxford University Press. 2024. Auerbach N. Woman and the Demon: The Life of a Victorian Myth, Harvard UP, 1982. The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. Yale University Press, 2nd Edi. 2020. The Bloomsbury Handbook to Neo-Victorianism. Bloomsbury Academic, 2024.

The course consists of lectures and practical classes, as well as independent student work. Throughout the semester, seminars and tests on relevant topics are held, and these are assessed according to the type of work and form of assessment. The course includes the following learning activities: oral responses, supplementary responses, participation in class discussions, mini-presentations involving audio-visual materials, presentations of individual projects, and a final test consisting of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. The final grade is based on the points earned by the student during the semester. Teaching methods: lectures, seminars and independent study.

The grade is based on the student's performance throughout the semester, with no additional assessment measures required. Students who earn a minimum passing score of 60 receive a 'pass' grade. The total number of points for the semester is calculated based on the following types of work: seminar responses — max. 5 points, min. 3 points, this gives a total of max. 40 points, min. 24 points depending on the number of seminars (8); mini-presentations involving audio-visual materials — max. 20 points, min. 12 points; the final test, which is a set task, can earn a max. 20 points, min. 12 points; independent scientific research/creative work — max. 20 points, min. 12 points. Students who have earned fewer than 60 points in total during the semester must pass the test by completing material on topics they have fallen behind.

Ukrainian