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Unit outline_

ENGL3657: The Brontes

Semester 2, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

The novels of the Bronte Sisters are among the most enduringly popular Victorian texts, yet they have an ambiguous critical status. The perception that the Brontes are labile and cloistered writers, best interpreted psychoanalytically, raises questions about the relationship between biography and literature, and the ways in which notions of social and historical relevance play into judgments about literary value. We will think about canonical and popular literary status, biography and authorship, gender and writing, and Victorian society.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
18 credit points at 2000-level from English or Australian Literature
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Sophie Frazer, sophie.frazer@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Assignment hurdle task Final Essay
Essay
50% Formal exam period
Due date: 30 Nov 2020 at 23:59
3000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Assignment Essay Proposal
Proposal
10% Week 07
Due date: 18 Oct 2020 at 11:59
500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO5 LO4 LO3 LO2
Assignment Weekly journal assignment
Literature review
40% Weekly 250 words per week.
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO5
hurdle task = hurdle task ?

Assessment summary

  • Journal assignment:  You are required to write a critical and creative reflection of 250 words, every week, submitted via Canvas. This is a private journal to document the evolution of your critical process and engagement with the novels and secondary readings. 
  • Essay Proposal:  You will devise your own question for the final essay. In this task you will be expected to set out your question and its central intention and ambit, and your methodology and selected bibliography. 
  • Final Essay:  This is the major piece of work for the unit. Here, you will write a formal work of scholarship, with reference to both our primary and secondary texts. This is a hurdle task, so it is imperative that you submit this third assignment in order to pass the unit. 

Detailed information for each assessment can be found in Canvas.

Please note: The final essay is a hurdle task, which means that you are required to attempt the task (that is, you must submit work) in order to pass the unit. 

Assessment criteria

More information can be found in Canvas. 

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction to the Brontës and juvenilia selections. Seminar (2 hr) LO4
Week 02 Reading Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre.' Elizabeth Gaskell's biography selections. Seminar (2 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 03 Reading 'Jane Eyre' and secondary criticism. Seminar (2 hr) LO2
Week 04 Anne Brontë's 'Agnes Grey.' Seminar (2 hr) LO2
Week 05 Reading Emily Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights.' Seminar (2 hr) LO2
Week 06 Wuthering Heights and critical reception. Seminar (2 hr) LO5
Week 07 Anne Brontë's 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.' Seminar (2 hr) LO2
Week 08 Reading 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall': critical trends. Seminar (2 hr) LO4 LO5
Week 09 Reading and research week; individual meetings for essay. Independent study (2 hr) LO1 LO5
Week 10 Charlotte Brontë's 'Villette.' Seminar (2 hr) LO2
Week 11 The "problem" of Villette. Seminar (2 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 12 Course conclusion: Emily Brontë's poetry and the lost world of Gondal. Seminar (2 hr) LO4 LO5

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

  • Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
  • Charlotte Brontë, Villette
  • Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey
  • Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
  • Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
  • Elizabeth Gaskell, The Life of Charlotte Brontë

All additional readings for this uni can be accessed through the Library eReserve, available in Canvas.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. L1: Have gained skills in the kind of sustained critical investigation normally reserved for honours or masters work.
  • LO2. L2: Be familiar with major works in the Brontë oeuvre and the main debates that have informed Brontë criticism.
  • LO3. L3: Have learned about gender and literary production in the Victorian period.
  • LO4. L4: Consider the relevance of biographical information to understanding literary texts.
  • LO5. L5: Reflect on the assumptions that inform both literary critical trends and your own understanding of literary critical practice.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

In response to overwhelming interest in Anne Brontë and her work, this year includes that author's first novel, Agnes Grey, in addition to her second and final novel.

More information can be found on Canvas. 

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.