English and drama

Posthuman/Premodern

Module code: Q3321
Level 6
30 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Workshop
Assessment modes: Coursework

This module takes up notions of the ‘posthuman’ – including the animal, the monstrous, automata, the object (e.g. clothing, prostheses), and matter itself (e.g. soil, dust, the earth) – in premodern literature - that is, in literature written before 1800.

We will read across a range of texts – poetry, plays, encyclopaedias, philosophy, theology, medicine – from classical antiquity (Aristotle and Ovid), through the Middle Ages (Chaucer and Lydgate) and into the early modern period (Baldwin, Descartes, Spenser).

This will enable us to engage with the origins of humanist discourse, which puts ‘man’ at the centre of the universe, and tackle questions such as: what constitutes the ‘human’ in premodern thinking? How do notions of the posthuman in premodern literature orient a relationship with other animals and the natural world? How do bodies and technology interact in narrative and performance? And what paradigms for thinking through the posthuman emerge in the intersection of premodern literature and contemporary theory? To answer, we’ll engage with theories like those of Jacques Derrida on the animal, Jane Bennett on ‘vibrant’ matter, and Donna Haraway on the Cyborg.

Module learning outcomes

• Analyse and interpret a range of historical English literature, situating it in its intellectual and cultural contexts
• Apply contemporary theories of the posthuman to premodern materials critically and in historically sensitive ways
• Effectively communicate information, arguments and analysis in a variety of forms and deploy key techniques of the discipline effectively.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the historical development of ideas of the human, humanism, and the posthuman
• Write a critical essay, rooted in historical research and close reading, on premodern notions of the posthuman