LHIST6219 Culture and Revolt in the Age of Richard II and Chaucer Course Descriptor

Course Overview

This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the major political, social and cultural transformations of the latter half of the fourteenth century, during the ‘Age’ of Richard II (1367–1400) and Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340–1400). The course will draw on written primary evidence, along with art, literature, and physical places, such as the Tower of London or Westminster Abbey, to allow students to engage with this period of exceptional cultural production in medieval England. 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and range of additional resources (e.g. readings, question prompts, tasks, assignment briefs, discussion boards) to orientate and engage students in their studies.

The scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course are:

Lectures/seminars 

40 scheduled hours – typically including induction, consolidation or revision, and assessment activity hours.

• Version 1:all sessions in the same sized group

OR 

• Version 2: most of the sessions in larger groups; some of the sessions in smaller groups

OR

Directed study 

4-12 scheduled hours, the exact number varying according to the balance of 1:1s, 2:1s, or small groups. The plan will be confirmed by the start of the course, taking into account student numbers and  the proposed      topics, readings, and specific tasks.

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups. 

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 150 

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessment are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within interactive teaching sessions, office hours, and/or the VLE. 

Summative Assessments

Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments, through email or the VLE) or oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is for a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• Fletcher, C (2010) Richard II: Manhood, Youth and Politics. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
•  Gillespie, J. (1997), The Age of Richard II. Sutton: Stroud.
• Ormrod, W. M. (2000), ‘In Bed with Joan of Kent: The King’s Mother and the Peasants’ Revolt’, Medieval Women: Texts and Contexts. Turnhout: Brepols.

Indicative Topics

Note: Comprehensive and current topics for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative topics provided below are used as a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• The Sacking of the Tower of London during the Peasants’ Revolt 
• Richard II and the Fiction of Majority Rule
• Chaucer in Southwark 
• Shakespeare’s Richard II