CLS2550 - The romantic revolution in European thought and literature

Leader(s): Kate Rigby

Offered

Clayton Second semester 2009 (Day)

Synopsis

This unit will introduce students to the new forms of representation and ways of thinking that emerged in Europe in association with the Romantic movement. It will focus in particular on Romantic reconceptualisations of history and nationhood, God and nature, art and the self. Romanticism will be considered both as a revolutionary period in European history and as a continuing strand of Western culture. Writers discussed include Rousseau, Herder, Kant, Goethe, Schelling, Novalis, F. Schlegel, Kleist, Eichendorff, E. T. A. Hofmann, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, Byron, Clare and Lermontov.

Objectives

Students who successfully complete this unit will have:

1. Developed a general understanding of the new ways of thinking and writing about history and nationhood, God and nature, art and the self that were articulated by European philosophers and writers associated with the Romantic movement.
2. Gained a more in-depth knowledge of the work of at least two Romantic philosophers and/or writers from different parts of Europe.
3. Become more aware of the ongoing legacy of European Romanticism in contemporary Western culture.
4. Continued the development of their skills in the areas of research, textual analysis and interpretation, and communication, both oral and written.

5. Integrated an understanding of one or more current approaches within literary or cultural theory into their analysis of Romantic literature and/or philosophy.

Assessment

Essay (2500 words): 50%
Seminar paper (1000 words): 20%
Exam (1 hours): 30%

Contact hours

One 1-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial per week

Prohibitions

CLS3550