MA Handbook Amendments

SWANSEA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES

MA in Medieval Studies

Handbook

For 2016 entry

King Henry II grants a confirmation charter to the abbot of St Peter’s Abbey, Gloucester (now Gloucester Cathedral). Cartulary of St Peter’s Gloucester (TNA, E 164), fol. 18r.

October 2016 2 Welcome to the MA in Medieval Studies at Swansea University! Whether you are interested in history, literature, languages, classical studies, military history, or all of these, you will find courses to help you expand your knowledge and skills as a medievalist.

In this booklet there are details of the structure of the course, compulsory and optional modules, assessment requirements, dissertation guidelines and teaching staff. All the staff are available to advise you on your choice of modules, and you can also contact the Director of the programme (Dr Alison Williams) if you need any further assistance.

DISCLAIMER

The College of Arts and Humanities has made all reasonable efforts to ensure that the information contained in this handbook is accurate and up-to-date when published.

The College reserves the right to revise, alter or discontinue degree schemes or modules and to amend regulations and procedures at any time, but every effort will be made to notify interested parties.

Dates of Terms and Semesters 2016-2017

Michaelmas Term Semester One 26 September – 16 December 26 September – 3 February

Lent Term 9 January – 7 April 2016 Semester Two 6 February – 16 June 2016 Summer Term 1 May – 16 June

3 Key Contacts

For university switchboard: 01792 205678

Director of the MA in Medieval Studies: Dr Alison Williams; ext. 5409; [email protected]

College Office: ext. 2394, [email protected]

4 Teaching Staff

NB. In addition to the following staff, you may well meet a number of other academics who form part of Swansea University’s medievalist community, including emeritus professors, research associates, and honorary research fellows.

Professor Mark Humphries [email protected] Department of Classics, Ancient History and Egyptology JC 212 Tel.: 01792 602786

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (AD200-700); political history and ideology during the disintegration of the Roman empire in the West and the emergence of the early medieval successor states; Rome and the Near East from the Sassanids to the rise of Islam; religious history, particularly of Christianity; the development of cities, particularly in Italy.

Dr Simon John [email protected] Department of History contact details tbc

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Latin Christian expansion 1050-1250; the crusades and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; kingship; historical writing.

Dr Alex Langlands [email protected] Department of History JC 120 Tel.: 01792 602394

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Early Medieval Britain, especially Wessex; landscape history and archaeology; developments in urbanism circa. 700 - 1200 A.D.; travel and communication in late-Roman and early medieval Britain.

Ms Kathryn Maude [email protected] Department of English Literature KH243 Tel.: 01792 602024

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Sermon literature; saints’ lives; nunneries; anchoritism; medieval gender issues; Old English.

Professor Elizabeth Herbert McAvoy [email protected] Department of English Literature KH 212 Tel.: 01792 602462

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Medieval women’s writing, medieval gender issues, anchoritism, female mysticism, medieval literacies. On research leave 2015-2017.

5 Dr Roberta Magnani [email protected] Department of English Language and Literature KH224 Tel.: 01792-602606

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Chaucer and 15th-century literary culture; late medieval manuscripts and incunabula; editing and book history; the reception of the Middle Ages in the Renaissance and Victorian times; Foucault and queer theory.

Professor Daniel Power [email protected] Department of History JC 101 Tel.: 01792 602412

RESEARCH INTERESTS: France and Britain in the Central Middle Ages, especially Normandy; the Albigensian Crusade; medieval aristocracies; medieval frontiers (including the Welsh Marches). On research leave 2016-2018.

Dr Charlie Rozier [email protected] Department of History contact details tbc

RESEARCH INTERESTS: English and Norman politics, society and culture, c.900-1200; medieval monasticism; monastic thought; approaches to the theory and practice of historical writing, c.400-1250.

Professor Patricia Skinner [email protected] Departments of English Literature and History JC116

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Gender and power in medieval Europe; medieval health and medicine; medieval gardens; Jews in medieval Europe

Dr Matthew Stevens [email protected] Department of History JC 102 Tel.: 01792 295094

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Later medieval urban, economic and Welsh history; the medieval colonisation of Wales, Ireland, East Prussia and Livonia.

Dr Alison Williams [email protected] Programme Director of the MA in Medieval Studies Department of Modern Languages KH 319 Tel.: 01792 295409

6 RESEARCH INTERESTS: Medieval French literature; Renaissance French literature; medical humanities; humour theory; historical fiction; gender; ecocriticism.

Dr Deborah Youngs [email protected] Department of History KH106 Tel.: 01792 513115

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Social and cultural history of late medieval Britain, especially aristocracy, literacy and book ownership, women and work.

RESEARCH STAFF

Dr Emma Cavell Department of History JC122

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Aristocracies, frontiers, and women and gender, especially in the British Isles, c.1000-1300; the March of Wales 1067-1283; women’s access to law and justice in 12th- and 13th-century England.

Dr Irina Metzler Department of History and Classics JC122

RESEARCH INTERESTS: disability in medieval Europe (cultural, religious and social aspects of physical and intellectual impairment); medieval notions of history and the past; medieval perceptions of the natural world; historical anthropology.

Dr Theresa Tyers Department of English Language and Literature Room to be confirmed

RESEARCH INTERESTS: The social history of medicine, medieval manuscript collections of medical recipes and healthcare advice written in romance vernaculars, women and healing, questions of authorship and transmission of medical knowledge, representations of medicine in medieval literature.

7 AIMS

The MA in Medieval Studies programme is designed to appeal both to BA graduates seeking a final fourth year of study and to those planning to go on to further research (MPhil or PhD). It aims to provide an introduction to advanced medieval studies by combining a training in scholarly methods and approaches with the opportunity to pursue specialised work by means of seminars, assessed essays and a dissertation. It is designed to offer the training in the linguistic, textual and analytical skills necessary for higher research, and also to provide students with an understanding of the medieval heritage of South Wales and the surrounding regions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Successful candidates for the Master’s Degree are expected to demonstrate:

 sound knowledge and understanding of their chosen subject areas;

 critical awareness of current problems and new insights in academic enquiry and debate concerning the Middle Ages;

 competence in techniques of research and writing about the Middle Ages;

 originality in the use of knowledge and in the interpretation of evidence;

 ability to evaluate critically current scholarship and, where appropriate, to propose new hypotheses.

Typically, holders of the MA will be able to:

 deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make informed judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences;

 demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act independently in planning and implementing tasks at a professional level;

 continue to advance their knowledge and understanding, and to develop new skills to a high level.

They will have the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring:

 the exercise of initiative and professional responsibility;

 decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations;

 the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development.

8 MA IN MEDIEVAL STUDIES: DEGREE STRUCTURE

The MA in Medieval Studies is an interdisciplinary degree programme that draws upon staff from a number of subject areas, including History, English Literature, Modern Languages, and Classics. The programme is divided into two parts. Part One consists of 120 credits of compulsory and optional modules. Full-time students study these over two semesters, part- time students over four. Part Two consists of the Dissertation, worth 60 credits. It is undertaken following the successful completion of Part One.

COMPULSORY & OPTIONAL MODULES

The MA scheme contains three compulsory modules that must be passed in order to pass Part One (see tables below): HIMM01: Introduction to Advanced Medieval Studies I: Skills and Approaches; HIMM04: Introduction to Advanced Medieval Studies II: Themes and Sources; and HIMM02: Research Folder Part-time students follow HIMM01 and HIMM04 in their first year and HIMM02 in the second semester of their second year, in preparation for the dissertation at Part Two.

Optional modules are all modules that are not compulsory modules for the particular MA scheme that a student is following. In addition to those module focussing on history and literature students may also opt to follow a language module chosen from Postgraduate Latin, Old English, or French, German or Spanish for Postgraduate students (available at beginners’ and intermediate levels).

TEACHING

Most modules are taught by the seminar method. Normally, the topic for each meeting is introduced by a member of the class and structured discussion follows. These methods may vary for the training modules in languages or manuscripts. For the research folder and dissertation, teaching takes the form of individual supervision.

OUTLINE MODULE INFORMATION

The constituent departments of the College of Arts and Humanities use their websites to communicate information about modules to prospective students, and Blackboard, Swansea University’s Virtual Learning Environment, to communicate information about modules to students who have enrolled on them. For detailed module information, students are advised to consult these sources.

An outline list of modules for the degree is provided on the following page. Details of the modules available follow.

N.B. Not all optional modules will run every year. Modules will be subject to a minimum threshold.

All modules are 20 credits, apart from the 60-credit dissertation.

9 MA in Medieval Studies: modules 2016-2017

Teaching Block 1 Teaching Block 2 HIMM01: Introduction to Advanced HIMM04: Introduction to Advanced Medieval Studies 1: Skills and Approaches Medieval Studies 2: Themes and Sources

(compulsory) (compulsory) HIMM02: Research Folder (compulsory)

Language modules (optional) Language modules (optional) CL-M12A Postgraduate Latin (Beginners 1) / EN-M76 Discovering Old English CL-M56 Postgraduate Latin (Intermediate Latin 1)/ CL-M58 Postgraduate Latin (Further Latin 1) Students who studied Latin in TB1 may take / a follow-on module: CL-M28 Latin Texts 1 CL-M13A Postgraduate Latin 2 (Beginners) / CL-M57Postgraduate Latin 2 (Intermediate) / Postgraduate Modern Language (MLFM06 / CL-M59 Postgraduate Latin (Further Latin) / MLFM07 French / CL-M29 Latin Texts 2 MLGM06 / MLGM07 German / MLSM06 / MLSM07 Spanish Beginner /Intermediate) [N.B. ML modules are taught over both TBs.]

Optional modules Optional modules

HIMM06: Directed Reading in Medieval EN-M77: The Queer Middle Ages: Bodies, Studies Textuality and Objects

ML-M10: Gender and Humour in Medieval HI-M53: From Princely Possessions to Public and Early Modern Europe Museums: A History of Collecting and Display

HIHM01: Debates and Approaches in CL-M78: Saints and Sinners in Christian Late Heritage and Public History Antiquity

HI-M79: The Normans in Western Europe and the Mediterranean: Memory, identity and diaspora, c.900-1150 N.B. All optional modules run subject to a minimum number of enrolments.

10 CL-M12A and CL-M13A Postgraduate Latin 1 and 2 are for beginners. CL-M56 and CL-M57 Postgraduate Intermediate Latin 1 and 2 are for students who have done one year of Latin. CL-M58 and CL-M59 Postgraduate Further Latin are for students who have done two years of Latin. CL-M28 and CL-M29 Latin Texts 1 and 2 are for students with advanced Latin.

Modern Languages modules MLFM06, MLGM06 and MLSM06 are intended for those who have no knowledge of the foreign language, or GCSE or A level sat several years ago. Modules MLFM07, MLGM07 and MLSM07 are post-A level standard.

11 ASSESSMENT

Assessment for these MA modules is by coursework, except for some language modules. All coursework must be word- processed and submitted electronically via Turnitin on the module Blackboard site.

Details of the assessment associated with each module will be provided at the start of that module and via the module’s Blackboard site.

MARKING CRITERIA

Submitted work will be marked and returned with an indication of its qualities according to the following criteria:

Evidence of knowledge Evidence of sufficient reading Evidence of analysis and evaluation Clarity of argument Grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary Referencing and bibliography Ability to follow the guidelines

Comments will be addressed particularly to the key criteria of:

Knowledge Knowledge of chosen subject Understanding of current scholarship on the subject and of its historiography Range and evaluation of primary sources

Approach and argument Appropriateness of objectives and method of enquiry Focus, coherence, and structure Persuasiveness Independence of thought

Expression and Presentation Accuracy of prose, grammar, spelling, and punctuation Accuracy, consistency, and adequacy of references and bibliography Quality of layout and word-processing

An overall mark will be awarded in line with the following mark scheme:

80+ Publishable Outstanding work, Lucid structure Compellingly argued and displaying sophisticated supporting an original exceptionally well- understanding of the and perceptive written. subject. interpretation. 70-79 Excellent First-class work, Admirably structured Stylish writing and showing excellent and persuasive in immaculate referencing. knowledge and argument. Clear signs of understanding. originality of thought and approach. 60-69 Accomplished Accomplished work. Effectively structured Good, fluent writing and

12 Perceptive account of the and well argued. Some consistent referencing. subject. originality of thought. 50-59 Adequate Adequate knowledge and Work has basic structure Prose and referencing understanding. and argument is generally acceptable. moderately convincing. 0-49 Fail Serious weaknesses in Structure unclear or Mistakes of grammar, knowledge and inadequate. Argument spelling, referencing. understanding. weak or non-existent.

Coursework which is submitted later than the submission date will receive a mark of 0 unless Special Circumstances apply and a successful application for waiver of penalty is made to the College Special Circumstances Committee. Please refer to the College of Arts and Humanities Handbook for further information about this process.

Part-time students submit their coursework at the same date as the full-time students, but over a two-year period. According to university regulations, the deadline for part-time MA students to submit their dissertations falls in the third year after they commenced their studies. However, part-time students are encouraged to submit their dissertation by 30 September (or the nearest weekday) in the second year of their study: thus, those beginning the MA in October 2016 should aim to submit their dissertation by 30 September 2018.

The deadlines for the submission of dissertations are laid down by university regulations. Requests for extensions are put to the University Academic Registry by the History Department on behalf of the candidate. A reasoned application is required, supported by appropriate independent evidence (e.g. medical certificate, letter from employer) and stating that the requested extension has been assessed by the supervisor as sufficient for the student to complete the dissertation, given the circumstances. Students who wish to apply for an extension are advised to contact the Convenor of the MA in Medieval Studies at the earliest possible date.

HELP & ADVICE WITHIN THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES

The College will do all it that it can to support its students, academically and pastorally. MA students should note, however, that generally-speaking they have an important part to play in ensuring that they receive the help and advice that they need. Sources of support include the following:

Personal Tutors All MA students are assigned an individual member of staff as a Personal Tutor. S/he is the member of staff to whom you should normally turn first if you are experiencing difficulties other than those associated with the academic content of particular modules; if you require someone to act as a referee; or if you want general advice.

Your Personal Tutor will normally be available for consultation and advice at advertised weekly office hours, or by appointment. Please consult their office doors and/or Blackboard for information. You are assured that, if you so request it, the matters you wish to raise with your Tutor will be treated in strict confidence. The Department keeps academic records of all its students. It also keeps reports returned by Personal Tutors. Such information is invaluable when students require references; otherwise it is kept strictly confidential.

13 Module Tutors & Dissertation Supervisors Module Tutors can offer help and advice regarding the academic content of their modules and the associated assessment, in addition to the help and advice provided during the module seminars or meetings. Dissertation Supervisors serve the same role with respect to Part Two of the MA, the Dissertation. Like Personal Tutors, Module Tutors and Dissertation Supervisors will have advertised office hours, and should be available at other times by appointment. The University recommends that students meet their Dissertation Supervisors a minimum of three times (four times for part-time students) between the completion of Part One and the submission of their dissertation, and that a record of these meetings is kept and agreed by both student and supervisor.

Disability Officer / Careers Officer The Department also has a Disability Office and a Careers Officer, both of whom are available for consultation by MA students. Students with disabilities may, for example, inform the Department of particular needs or concerns having a bearing on academic performance or attendance via the Disability Officer. Please consult the Blackboard ‘History: Student Information’ pages for information about the identity of the Disability Officer and Careers Officer.

OTHER HELP & ADVICE

Student Support Services

Student Support Services provides a ‘one-stop shop’ to provide students with information, advice, and support. It encompasses the Disability Office, International Student Advisory Service, Money Advice and Support Office (see below), and Student Wellbeing Service. For more information on each of these services, please consult their website: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/student-services/

Money Advice and Support Office Tel: 01792 513225 / 513393 / 602979 / 295826 Email: [email protected] http://www.swan.ac.uk/money-advice/

Students in financial difficulty are encouraged to contact the Money Advice and Support Office in the Student Support Services Department, Ground Floor, Keir Hardie. The office provides information on statutory student funding, benefit entitlements, money advice and debt counselling. It also administers a range of funds (including Financial Contingency Fund and International Students Crisis Fund) that provide loans, bursaries and non-repayable grants for students who may be facing financial difficulties.

Library

Information Services and Systems supports the work of students and academics through the provision of Library and IT resources and advice. Their website provides a comprehensive listing of services and enquiry points:

14 http://www.swansea.ac.uk/iss/libraries/

Careers

The Careers and Employability Service is located within the Library and Information Centre. They can provide information about careers and guidance on writing CVs and application forms. For more information about them, please consult their website: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/careers/

GENERAL INFORMATION

Facilities

All graduate members taking the degree programme have use of the computer suite and other facilities in Keir Hardie 327 and KH222. Access is by student card, once it has been encoded: please consult College Office Staff, ground floor Keir Hardie. Postgraduate students have full access to the resources of the University Library, including its Inter-Library Loan service.

Seminars & Conferences

During term time there are fortnightly video seminars (usually Tues., 5pm) in medieval and early modern history and literature, held in conjunction with other Welsh universities and organised by the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Bangor and Aberystwyth Universities (IMEMS). Students taking the MA in Medieval Studies are strongly encouraged to attend these seminars. In addition there are regular meetings of other research seminars (e.g. the History Research Seminar on Thursday afternoons), which MA students are also strongly encouraged to attend and participate in. Students should also be alert to notices of occasional conferences, symposia, and workshops held in Swansea and elsewhere. Participation in the intellectual life of the Department and the wider academic community is an important part of being a postgraduate student, and a useful way of keeping informed about developments in your particular field of interest.

Postgraduate societies in the College of Arts and Humanities includes the very active Postgraduate History Society, which also organises programme of discussion groups, seminars, and conferences.

MEMO (Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Research) brings together postgraduate students and staff working on research related to these periods across the College of Arts and Humanities. It organises research seminars and an annual Symposium by the Sea each summer. MEMO staff have been awarded prestigious research grants from the Leverhulme Trust, the Wellcome Trust and the AHRC. News about MEMO-related activity may also be found on the website: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/riah/researchgroups/memo/ and by following @MEMOSwansea on Twitter, on Facebook and on our blog. The Director of MEMO is Dr Adam Moseley ([email protected]).

15 Staff-Student Consultative Committee

The staff-student consultative committee is one of several mechanisms by which the College of Arts & Humanities solicits feedback from, and consults with, the student body. Please see the College Handbook or Blackboard for further information.

Board of Studies

A student representative sits on the Board of Studies for the programme.

Students are entitled to submit MA coursework in Welsh, rather than English, but should contact the MA Convenor in advance of doing so.

GOING ON TO FURTHER RESEARCH

The MA schemes are designed to provide a firm foundation for a research degree – either MPhil or PhD – and successful performance in the MA may enable students to obtain a research award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), or Swansea University.

Students who are interested in going on to further research should discuss their options with the member of staff with the most expertise in their area of interest, and/or their Personal Tutor. Details of funding and application procedures may be obtained from the Director of the College of Arts & Humanities Graduate Centre, Dr Jonathan Dunnage, 01792 602610, [email protected] .

16 COMPULSORY MODULE INFORMATION

HIMM01 - Introduction to Advanced Medieval Studies 1: Skills and Approaches. TB1 Team taught. Module convenor: Dr Alison Williams

Compulsory

Module Description The aim of this module is to equip students on the MA in Medieval Studies with the skills and approaches necessary to pursue graduate level study in this interdisciplinary field. It is compulsory for students on the MA in Medieval Studies but may be followed by students on other programmes with the approval of their home department. The weekly 2 hour sessions are divided into blocks of two weeks. The first week in each block will focus on introducing students to a skill or approach; the second will focus on the practical application of this skill or approach to a source, text, visual resource, etc. Syllabus: Week 1: Introduction to the module and the MA programme. Week 2: What is medieval? Introduction and theory Week 3: What is medieval? Sources and texts Week 4: Genre: Introduction and theory Week 5: Genre: Sources and texts Week 6: Assessment: explanation of assessment pattern and guidance. Week 7: Gender: Introduction and theory Week 8: Gender: Sources and texts Week 9: Codicology and Palaeography: Introduction and theory Week 10: Codicology and Palaeography: Sources and texts Week 11: Introduction to heritage.

Assessment Three assignments (one formative (1,500 words), 2 summative (2 x 1,800 words, each worth 50% of the module total)

HIMM04 - Introduction to Advanced Medieval Studies 2: Themes and Sources. TB2 Team taught. Module convenor: Dr Alison Williams Compulsory Module Description This module aims to apply the skills and approaches learned in the module HIMM01: Introduction to Advanced Medieval Studies 1: Skills and Approaches to a range of important themes in Medieval Studies, including identity, perceptions of history, spirituality, heritage. The module is interdisciplinary and draws on historical, literary and visual sources. The content of the module will be arranged in 2-weekly blocks, with the first week in each block dedicated to introducing students to the specific theme and the second week being used as a practical application of this knowledge to a source or text. Syllabus

17 Week 1: Identity: introduction and theory Week 2: Identity: practical work on texts and sources Week 3: Assessment explanation and guidance Week 4: Spirituality: introduction and theory Week 5: Spirituality: practical work on texts and sources Week 6: Quantitative Methods: introduction and theory Week 7: Quantitative Methods: practical work on texts and sources Week 8: Perceptions of History: introduction and theory Week 9: Perceptions of History: practical work on texts and sources Week 10: Heritage and Landscape Week 11: Heritage: practical: site visit and study Assessment: Coursework 1: Debate essay addressing a question or argument specific to a theme in Medieval Studies. Topic to be decided by student with guidance from lecturers. 2,500 words. Coursework 2: Essay assessing sources for an event, building or text from the medieval period. Topic to be decided by student with guidance from lecturers. 2,500 words.

HIMM02 - Research Folder TB 2 Dr Alison Williams (convenor) / Professor Patricia Skinner Compulsory Module Description This module is designed to help students to identify a dissertation topic appropriate to their interests and expertise. It also enables them to tackle the problems of methodology, acquire the research techniques and undertake the project planning which are the necessary preliminaries to researching and writing a 15,000 - 20,000 word dissertation. Each student attends a series of four personal (one-to-one) tutorials with their dissertation supervisor and four group sessions. The series of tutorials is followed by a conference, attended by all students taking the MA in Medieval Studies and the MA in History and chaired by a member of staff, normally the MA coordinator, at which research proposals are presented and discussed.

Introductory reading Bibliographical guidance will be provided by your supervisor. Introductory works include the following:  G. Kitson Clark, Guide for research students working on historical subjects (London: Cambridge University Press, 1958)

18  W. H. McDowell, Historical research: a guide for writers of dissertations, theses, articles and books (London: Longman, 2002)  C. Hart, Doing your Masters Dissertation (London: SAGE, 2005)

Assessment Source Commentary, i.e. a critical survey of the prospective primary and secondary sources for the dissertation; research proposal.

As a guide, the Research Proposal should not be more than about 3000 words in length (excluding footnotes) and the Source Commentary should not be more than about 2000 words (excluding titles of books, articles, manuscripts etc.).

OPTIONAL MODULES

CL-M12A - Postgraduate Latin 1 This module focuses on inculcating the core Latin grammar and syntax necessary for the reading of Latin documents in a Masters’ level programme.

CL-M56 - Postgraduate Intermediate Latin 1 This module is designed for students who have successfully completed Postgraduate Intermediate Latin 1 (or one year of Latin). It completes their learning of the grammar of Latin.

CL-M58 – Postgraduate Further Latin 1 This module is designed for students who have equivalent language skills to two years of studying Latin. It consolidates and expands their knowledge of the language.

CL-M28 – Latin Texts 1. This module is designed for students with an advanced level of Latin.

The modules below are continuations in Teaching Block 2 of the modules taught in Teaching Block 1 and may be chosen as an optional TB2 module. Students must pass the TB1 modules in order to continue in TB2.

CL-M13A – Postgraduate Latin 2 CL-M57 – Postgraduate Intermediate Latin 2 CL-M59 – Postgraduate Further Latin 2 CL-M29 - Latin Texts 2

Modern Languages Modules: MLFM06: Beginners’ French, MLFM07: Intermediate French MLGM06: Beginners’ German, MLGM07: Intermediate German MLSM06: Beginners’ Spanish, MLSM07: Intermediate Spanish These modules are taught across both Teaching Blocks. Beginners’ level modules are intended for those with no knowledge of the language, or GCSE, or A level sat several years ago. Intermediate level is post A level standard.

19 EN-M76 – Discovering Old English TB2 Ms Kathryn Maude

This module will draw on sources from Anglo-Saxon literary and material culture – textual and archaeological evidence – to offer insights into the period. Texts will be read initially in translation, alongside the development of an expertise in the Old English language to facilitate eventual understanding of the original. Students on this module will explore major cultural transitions in the period, including shifts from orality to literacy and from a secular warrior society to Christianity. They will also think about how texts interact with their historical contexts and how Anglo-Saxon cultural values, politics and debates may be recuperated through close textual reading and analysis.

Syllabus 1. Cultural encounters: the Sutton Hoo ship burial 2. Old English language: first steps 3. Towards an Old English aesthetic 4. The world through new eyes: Old English riddles 5. The Battle of Maldon: heroic ideals 6. The Battle of Maldon: politics and propaganda. 7 The Dream of the Rood

Assessment: one 4,000 word assignment

CL-M78 Saints and Sinners in Christian Late Antiquity TB2 Prof Mark Humphries This module will analyse the presentation of various figures – ranging from emperors and empresses to monks and bishops – as heroes and villains in the discourses of the Christian Roman Empire in late antiquity. The core material for study will focus on texts: these will include accounts of emperors such as Eusebius’ panegyrical Life of Constantine, diverging accounts of the emperor Julian from pagan and Christian perspectives, and Procopius’ scandalous account of Justinian and Theodora in the Anekdota (Secret History), as well as various classics of the hagiographical genre, such as the lives of St Antony, St Martin of Tours, and St Ambrose of Milan. Students will be encouraged, in consultation with the module teacher, to follow their own interests in preparing their written assessments for the module: thus Egyptologists might examine a corpus of Egyptian hagiography, while medievalists might explore the Nachleben of various early Christian figures in the early and central middle ages.

EN-M77 – The Queer Middle Ages: Bodies, Textuality and Objects TB2 Dr Roberta Magnani

Module Description

This module engages with the multiple ways in which the Middle Ages encountered and manifested the queer. It aims at introducing students to recent theoretical concerns which open up new and stimulating ways of reading medieval culture. The current critical focus on queer subjectivities, the affective turn in literary studies, alongside reflections on the queer touch, invite us to consider medieval textuality, in particular, as the material site on which encounters with the queer (e.g. female masculinity; queer time and space; queer

20 phenomenology; transitional gender, sex and species identities; same-sex desire etc.) are made possible, but also closely policed. Specific attention will be paid to texts in the context of the manuscripts in which they were transmitted. As a porous surface, or a site of negotiation between multiple agents of productions of texts and meaning, the manuscript page is capacious, as it accommodates a variety of queer identities to be intended, broadly, as human and non-human.

Week 1: Introduction: Contemporary Theories/Medieval Textuality Week 2: Saints Lives: transvestism, transitional gender Week 3: John Gower's Confessio Amantis I: Cross-dressing and Same-Sex Desire Week 4: John Gower's Confessio Amantis II: Cross-dressing and Same-Sex Desire Week 5: Queering Heteronormativity I: Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde Week 6: Queering Heteronormativity II: Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde Week 7: screening of Luc Besson's Jean d'Arc (queering history) Week 8: Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards: Sodomy and Fetishism Week 9: Chaucer's Queer Wife: Glosses and Female Masculinity Week 10: Queering Chaucer's Fabliaux (Friar, Cook, Summoner, Merchant, Shipman, Reeve and Miller): group/individual presentations

Assessment: One 4000-word comparative essay (on 2-3 set texts), based on independent research.

HIHM01 Debates and Approaches in Heritage and Public History TB1 Dr Catherine Fletcher

This module offers an introduction to current debates in heritage and public history and a chance to develop practical skills in the communication of history to broad audiences. It will provide an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between academic study and the past as portrayed by, with and for the public (or publics). We’ll explore case-studies in heritage from around the world. Why have museum presentations of history proved so controversial? What is the role of heritage in nation- and community-building? There will be opportunities to try out a variety of practical techniques in historical communication, and to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. Students will familiarise themselves with current policy contexts for heritage and public history, and will acquire valuable skills for careers in the heritage sector and beyond.

Typically, the seminar content may include the following themes:

1. Introduction to heritage and public history 2. Collective memory 3. History, heritage and the nation 4. The shifting policy framework 5. Culture wars and heritage controversies 6. Changing museum practice 7. Re-enactment, performance and live interpretation 8. Communicating heritage online 9.-11 Student-led seminars

Assessment

21 1. Critical review of heritage site 800-1000 words (20%) 2. Group presentation: interpretation proposal for heritage site, equating to 800-1000 words per student (20%) 3. Essay 2500-3000 words (60%) [Special provision regarding field trips will be made for students with disabilities]

HI-M53: From Princely Possessions to Public Museums: A History of Collecting and Display TB2 Dr Adam Moseley

The public museums, libraries and galleries of the modern era first emerged from the princely and scholarly collections of the early modern period. Students taking this module will look at the various motivations for collecting from the late Middle Ages onwards, examine the different types of collection that resulted, and consider how those collections that have survived became accessible to the public. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role of display in the culture of collecting. Throughout their history collections have been displayed, but the reasons for doing so, and the size and nature of the audience to whom they have been shown, have varied over time and according to setting. The module will therefore provide an opportunity to consider what lessons and values have been and are being conveyed by collections, from princely Kunstkammern of the sixteenth century to national and local museums of the twenty-first century.

Syllabus: 1. The Psychology of Collecting 2. Princely Collecting: From Medieval Treasuries to Early Modern Museums 3. Dresden & Prague: The Collections of Elector August of Saxony & Emperor Rudolf II 4. Humanists & Antiquaries: Collecting the Past 5. Displaying the World: Natural History & Ethnography 6. Gentlemen & Virtuosi: Cabinets of Experimental Philosophy 7. Libraries as Collections and Museums 8. Sir Hans Sloane and the British Museum 9. Science & Empire: The Great Exhibition of 1851 and the Formation of the South Kensington Museums 10. Contemporary Politics of Display: Culture, Heritage & Learning

Assessment: One essay of up to 5,000 words.

22 HIMM06: Directed Reading in Medieval Studies TB1 Dr Alison Williams et al

Under the guidance of an expert supervisor, students analyse developments in research and historiography / literary analysis relating to a topic in Medieval Studies which they choose from a wide range of options. The aims of this module are: - to enable students to undertake an in-depth study of a topic in Medieval Studies; - to enable students to research key debates relating to a topic in Medieval Studies; - to enable students to acquire an understanding of current trends in research relating to a topic in Medieval Studies; - to enable students to acquire awareness of primary sources related to a topic in Medieval Studies and issues surrounding their use; - to enable students to develop skills of historical and / or literary analysis through concentrated study of a topic; - to enable students to acquire academic independence and specialisation required for the dissertation Research Folder in TB2.

Assessment Coursework 1: 2,500-word assignment in agreement with supervisor (50%) Submit November. Coursework 2: 2,500-word assignment in agreement with supervisor (50%) Submit end of module.

ML-M10: Gender and Humour in Medieval and Early Modern Europe TB1 Dr Alison Williams

This module investigates the manifestation and function of different forms of humour in literary texts produced in Europe in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period. The critical approach taken to the texts will particularly concentrate on the varying depictions of men and women as originators and victims of humour and will consider the role played by gender in the performance and reception of humour. To provide a critical context a number of theories of humour will be studied, including those proposed by Aristotle, Bergson, Freud, Koestler and Bakhtin, and an important area of investigation will be the contribution made to humour theory by women.This critical perspective will then be applied to the medieval and early modern texts, which will be drawn from the French tradition and will be studied in translation. Students will, however, be encouraged to make connections with other European cultures (e.g. the Chaucerian fabliaux, German Maeren and the Spanish picaresque novel).

Syllabus: 1: Introduction. Aristotelian views of comedy and women. 2: Laurent Joubert: Treatise on Laughter (1579) and Henri Bergson: On Laughter (1899) 3: Sigmund Freud: Jokes and their relation to the Unconscious (1905) and Humour (1928) 4: Arthur Koestler: bisociation in The Act of Creation (1964) and Mikhail Bakhtin: dialogism and the carnivalesque. 5: Women's humour? 6: Old French fabliaux: women who win 7: Old French fabliaux: women who lose 8: Aucassin et Nicolette: subverting gender 9: Rabelais: body parts, humiliation and death 10: Conclusions

23 Assessment: One essay of up to 5,000 words.

24 PART TWO MODULE INFORMATION DISSERTATION HIMD00

Convenor: Dr Alison Williams

Module Description The dissertation is the culmination of the MA and constitutes Part Two of the degree scheme. The word limit is 20,000 words. The subject of the dissertation is chosen by the student in consultation with their supervisor.

Useful reference works  A. Bond, ed., Your Masters Thesis: How to plan, draft, write, and revise (Abergele: Studymates Ltd., 2006)

Learning outcomes Through successful completion of the dissertation, students should be able to demonstrate:  capacity to think and work independently on a significant theme that they have identified  ability to identify relevant primary sources and secondary literature and engage with them in a direct and critical manner  ability to construct a coherent and original argument based on these materials  ability to locate their own work within an existing corpus of scholarship  competence in the use of critical apparatus such as footnote references and bibliography.

Marking criteria Dissertations are marked by two internal examiners and an external examiner. You are asked to submit two copies of your dissertation, one of which will normally be returned to you after it has been examined. The second copy is retained by the College and, ultimately, deposited in the Departmental Library. First-copies of dissertations on a topic of relevance to Wales are deposited in the University Library rather than being returned to their author.

The examiners use the same criteria as for other items of MA coursework, but they will be looking in particular for the qualities laid out below. It should go without saying that work at this level ought to be grammatical, correctly spelt, and properly punctuated. In addition, the author of a dissertation should have:  presented the dissertation using the conventions of the discipline effectively i.e. synopsis, footnotes, bibliography etc.  identified, researched and shown evidence of the use of a significant body of primary material and derived the argument/analysis of the dissertation substantially from such sources  shown an effective grasp of the historiographical background to the dissertation  defined the objects and method of inquiry effectively within the introduction  deployed within such narrative or descriptive framework an effective use of analysis so that the argument constantly appears in the foreground and is also sustained across all sections of the dissertation  presented any quantitative data in the appropriate form

25  referred appropriately within the body of the text to any appended material.