Trinity College Dublin

Students study one of the most exciting periods of British literary and social history, when tumultuous political and social changes such as revolution and industrialization produced a range of remarkable and enduring literary responses. The course examines British Romantic literature through the close study of a broad range of prose, poetry, and non-fiction. The course is structured around examination of the work of the "Big Six" high Romantic writers, whose work is read alongside that of noncanonical Romantic writers. It examines a wide range of literary genres from the period, including various forms of poetry, the novel, and non-fictional prose writing, and offers the opportunity to study both canonical and lesser-known authors. 

This course offers an introduction to Old English, the form of English used in England between the 5th and 11th century beside languages like Celtic, Old Norse, and Latin. Students read a selection of Old English texts in translation. A central theme of the course is the extent to which we can meaningfully locate the origins of England and the English in the Old English period.

This course examines the phenomenon of written language from a range of perspectives. It begins by exploring the beginnings and historical development of writing, in the process considering the ways in which different writing systems (e.g., word-writing, syllable writing, alphabetic writing) represent different aspects of language. Further points of discussion are drawn from among the following: the debate around the social and individual consequences of literacy; the orthography of English; the mental processes involved in reading; written texts as coherent communicative acts; information structure and flow in written texts; differences between the language of speech and the language of writing; and the relationship between written language and communication technologies.

This course offers a survey of art and architecture up to the end of 17th century, with a focus primarily, although not exclusively, on the Western world. It provides an introduction to the critical analysis of artworks, including painting, mosaic, fine metalwork, manuscripts, sculpture, buildings and the built environment. The course considers such matters as the iconography of major religious and mythological subjects, issues of style and the functions of works of art and architecture. Art works are considered in the context of influential factors such as historical period, geographic location, inter-cultural influences and the prevailing social, political, and religious environments.