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English Literature from the Medieval Period and Humanism

Code: 106299
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
English Studies OB 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Joan Curbet Soler
Email :
joan.curbet@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Students who take this subject are expected to have passed the first-year subject "Història i Cultura de les Illes Britàniques" and also to have a knowledge of English corresponding to the C1 and the C2 levels of English (advanced) of the Common European framework of the Reference for Laguages: Learning, Teaching, and Assessment, on the basis of which the student can express him or hserself adequately, that is fluently and with some precision, both in contributing to discussion and offering presentations in class and in writing academic texts. 

Objectives

This subject offers a comprehensive introduction to the main genres of English literature from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries. As such, it is based on detailed critical and textual analysis of some key texts written in the period. It also seeks to familiarize students with current trends in the critical reception of this literary corpus. In successfully completing the course, students will acquire the following skills:

Read and write about English medieval literature in a sufficiently sophisticated way to do justice to its complexities and subtleties.

Enrich their conception of the main literary genres and their uses in medieval and early modern England.  

Improve their understanding of the intersection between literary text, historical context, and cultural values.  

Learn how to take advantage of the resources of a modern university library to interpret and write about pre- and early-modern literary texts.

Learning outcomes

  1. Locate and organise relevant English-language information available on the internet, databases and libraries, and apply this to work and/or research environments.
  2. Organise the autonomous component to the learning process in an effective manner.
  3. Express oneself in English orally and in writing in an academic register, using the terminology appropriate to the study of English language texts from the Early Modern and contemporary periods.
  4. Participate in face-to-face and virtual discussions in English on issues related to contemporary and Early Modern literary works.
  5. Understand specialised academic texts on research on Early Modern and contemporary works and cultural contexts.
  6. Elaborate text commentaries and write argumentative essays (C1-C2) of medium length in English on concepts related to literary works of the Early Modern and contemporary period.
  7. Demonstrate autonomous critical ability in the elaboration of argumentative essays on topics that converge in a wide range of Early Modern and contemporary texts.
  8. Contextualise the evolution of the intellectual debates in Early Modernity and their literary expression in contemporary literature.
  9. Analyse the influence of ‘great authors' in Early Modern English literature on the construction of the English and comparative European literary canons.
  10. Using digital technologies, conduct bibliographic searches of secondary sources related to Early Modern and contemporary literature in the English language.
  11. Integrate secondary sources related to Early Modern and contemporary literature into the production of advanced academic criticism.
  12. Distinguish principal from secondary concepts and develop advanced synthesis skills in literary texts of the Early Modern and contemporary period in English.
  13. Interpret—at an advanced level—literary texts by Early Modern and contemporary authors in English.
  14. Identify the stylistic and cultural elements that shape and distinguish Early-Modern and contemporary literary production in English.
  15. Understand at an advanced level the contextual and stylistic nuances of the main authors who characterise and define the literary production of Early Modernity and the contemporary period in English.
  16. Elaborate an overall oral and written critique that integrates the stylistic and cultural elements from a literary text of the Early Modern and contemporary period in English.
  17. Analyse the fundamental aspects of ethical conduct and the challenges this poses to a culturally diverse environment.
  18. Understand the fundamental aspects of the rights and duties that construct values in a democratic society.
  19. Apply the work-organisation methodologies acquired to individual and group-based professional tasks.
  20. Rigorously approach the values conveyed by the texts analysed, carrying out constructive criticism.
  21. Integrate knowledge and information from academic sources consulted for written work, citing, referencing and paraphrasing correctly.

Contents

UNIT 1 – The Origins and Development of Medieval Arthurian Literature: excerpts from "Perceval" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"

UNIT 2 – Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales and its significance in the history of English literature.

UNIT 3 – Humanism and Reformation: Thomas More's "Utopia".

UNIT 4 – Poetry of the Early Renaissance: Elizabethan Petrarchism and the sonnets of Sir Philip Sidney.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Study 30 1.2 2, 21
Class discussion and debates 10 0.4 1, 2, 20
Theorical component (lectures) 30 1.2 1, 20
Reading 35 1.4 1, 2, 21
Practical classes (close reading) 20 0.8 17, 18, 20

This subject seeks to integrate conventional methodologies that prioritise the theoretical dimension of the material with elements that allow for a more dynamic treatment of the texts and the material to be studied, and that encourage maximum involvement and participation on the part of students. Thus, the main teaching strategies are as follows:

  • Introduction of the main topics and authors by the lecturer
  • Detailed textual and critical analysis of the texts with the fullest possible participation of all group members
  • Group discussions that stimulate a diversity of interpretations and points of view on a specific question and text
  • Writing of critical texts that synthesise the knowledge acquired and reflect the skills developed during the course

Note: 15 minutes of one class will be reserved, within the calendar set by the centre/degree programme, for students to complete the surveys evaluating the lecturer's performance and the subject/module.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Class participation 10% 5 0.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
Exam 2 45% 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
Exam 1 45% 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

IMPORTANT: Erasmus students requesting to bring forward an exam or any other assessment activity must present an official document from their home university justifying their request.

The ASSESSMENT of this course is based on the following percentages:

Exam 1 = 45%

Exam 2 = 45%

Participation in discussions and other activities = 10%

Exam 1 will take place after Units I and II are completed; Exam 2 after Units III and IV are completed. The exact dates for these tests will be published on Moodle in the form of an assessment calendar.

Assessment will be continuous. All exercises are compulsory. The minimum mark for an exercise to count towards the average is 3.5. Students who fail both exams will NOT be eligible for re-assessment. The student's level of English will be taken into account when marking all written texts; it will count for 25% of the mark on all exercises and will be assessed as follows:

Percentage breakdown of the level of written expression in the exams:

  • Grammar (morphology and syntax): 30%
  • Vocabulary (accuracy and variety): 15%
  • Cohesion (relationship between sentences and paragraphs): 15%
  • Organisation (argumentation of ideas): 20%
  • Style (expression and register): 15%
  • Spelling: 5%

NOT ASSESSED: Students will receive a "Not assessed" grade whenever they have not submitted more than 30% of the assessment activities.

RE-ASSESSMENT: To be eligible for re-assessment, students must have been assessed, at a minimum, in a set of activities whose combined weight amounts to two-thirds (2/3) of the total continuous-assessment grade. If a student has failed one of the two exams, they must retake it in order to pass the subject. Only the exams are re-assessable. Students who have passed both exams may not opt for re-assessment in order to raise their grade.

The same re-assessment system as for continuous assessment will apply.

GRADE REVIEW: On carrying out each evaluation activity, the lecturer will inform students, via Moodle, of the procedure and date for the review of grades.

Assessment activities excluded from re-assessment: participation in class discussions.

SINGLE ASSESSMENT: Students who opt for this modality will be assessed according to the following criteria:

(1) A written test on Units I and II, to be taken in class on the same day and at the same time as the rest of the group sits Exam 2 (50% of the final grade).

(2) A written assignment on Units III and IV, to be submitted on the day of the exam (40%). Instructions for the assignment will be published on Moodle.

(3) A mark corresponding to class attendance and participation (10%).

The same re-assessment system as for continuous assessment will apply.

PLAGIARISM: In the event that a student commits any irregularity that could lead to a significant change in the grade awarded for an assessment activity, that activity will be graded 0, regardless of any disciplinary process that may be initiated. In the event of several irregularities occurring in the assessment activities of the same subject, the final grade for that subject will be 0.

Irregularities refer, for example, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indicating authorship, or misuse of AI, such as presenting as original a piece of work that has been generated by an AI tool or programme. These assessment activities are not eligible for re-assessment.

Bibliography

USE OF AI TOOLS IS NOT ALLOWED IN THIS SUBJECT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. ANY EXERCISE THAT INCLUDES FRAGMENTS OF THIS KIND WILL BE COUNTED AS A FAIL (0), NOT EXCLUDING OTHER CONSEQUENCES.

The following editions of the primary texts are recommended and will be used in class:

Helen Cooper (ed.), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, trans. by Keith Harrison, Oxford World's Classics, OUP, 2008.

Thomas More, Utopia, ed. by Dominic Baker-Smith, Penguin Classics, Penguin Books, 2012.

UNIT 1 Chivalric romance: The Story of the Grail and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Optional further reading: Lancelot du Lac, Queste du Graal, La Morte D´Arthur by Thomas Malory (1485).

UNIT 2 The poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (in particular, General Prologue,and The Miller´s Tales. Optional further reading: Troilus and Criseyde, The Parlyament of Fowles.

UNIT 3 Humanism and the Reformation. Utopia by Thomas More (1516); Selected texts from “Faith in Conflict”, Norton Anthology I. Optional further reading: A Dialogue of Comfort by Thomas More (1534).

UNIT 4 Renaissance poetry. Selected sonnets by Thomas Wyatt, Isabella Whitney, Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser. Optional further reading: A Defence of Poetry by Sir Philip Sidney (1595); Amoretti and Epithalamion by Edmund Spenser (1595)

Websites

The Internet Medieval Sourcebook: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html

English Literature on the Web: http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/EngLit.html - The Norton Online: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/

Other recommended texts:

Aers, David (ed.), Medieval Literature: Criticism, Ideology and History, ed. David Aers, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986).

Boitani, Piero and Jill Mann, (eds), The Cambridge Chaucer Companion, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986).

Glasscoe, Marion, English Medieval Mystics, (London: Longman, 1993).

Jost, Jean A., Middle English Arthurian Romances: A Reference Guide, (Boston, 1986).

Krueger, Roberta L., (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Romance, (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000).

Easting, Robert, Visions of the Other World in Middle English, (Rochester, NY, 1997).

Levi, Anthony. Renaissance and Reformation: Intellectual Genesis, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002).

Mahoney, Dhira, (ed.), The Grail:A Casebook, ed. Dhira Mahoney (New York and London: Garland, 2000).

Mann, Jill. Feminizing Chaucer, (Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell and Brewer, 2002).

Norbrook, David (ed.) The Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse, (London: Penguin, 2005).

Wallace, David, The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature, (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1999).

Software

No specific software is required 

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English first semester morning-mixed