ENG4500 – British and American Political Literature in the Eighteenth Century
Course content
This course teaches you how to analyse and contextualise British and American political literature of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: the Age of Revolution and Enlightenment.
To a great extent, British and American political writings of this period spring out of a shared literary culture, and this course provides an opportunity to study keystones of political thinking from both sides of the Atlantic, including classic texts by John Locke, Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Edmund Burke, James Madison, and others.
While the primary texts on the syllabus will be subjected to close rhetorical analysis, they will also be situated in their immediate historical context and understood in light of their reception in subsequent political discourses. A main focus in the course is on the development of ideas pertaining to system of government.
Learning outcome
After completing this course, you:
- have a working knowledge of eighteenth-century political history on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as of the ideological traditions and political discourses that shaped the primary texts
- have an understanding of the development of political ideas in Britain and America over the course of the eighteenth century, with a particular focus on arguments for different forms of government
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
This course is for students admitted to the master programmes?European Languages (master)?and?Lektorprogrammet (masterspesialisering i engelsk).
Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Teaching
Seminars, 2 hours per week for 10 weeks. 20 hours in all.
- Attendance at least 8 out of 10 seminars. Additional absences must be justified by documentation. Read more about rules concerning valid excuses and how to apply for approved absences or postponements here. Please note that absence exceeding 50 % of all seminars may not be approved, regardless of any excuses.
- A first draft of the term paper turned in by a stated deadline. You will be offered draft supervision. You either choose the topic from a list provided by the seminar leader, or you make your own topic. Individually set essay topics must, however, be approved by the seminar leader.
Both the obligatory activities must be approved in the same semester for you to sit the exam. Fulfilled course requirements are only valid the semester you attend the course.
Examination
The final grade is set on the basis of a written term paper (7 standard pages à 2,300 characters, 70% of the grade) and a school exam (2 hours, 30% of the grade).
A pass mark is required on both parts. You have to take both examination parts in the same semester.
Examination support material
School exam: Cambridge Dictionary will be offered in the digital examination system Inspera.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Resit an examination
For those who want to retake their exam: Since the form of assessment includes a term paper, you must follow the seminars and write a new paper in order to qualify. Admission depends on capacity.
If it`s just the written exam you have missed because of illness, it is possible to apply for a postponed exam. Please contact the exam consultant for more information.
A term paper or equivalent that is passed may not be resubmitted in revised form.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- How to use AI as a student
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.