2007 Handbooks

This unit examines the interrelationships between texts - literary and non-literary, including film and television - and the cultures of which they form a part. Particular attention will be paid to the historical, social, political and intellectual contexts in which art is produced. The themes and texts of the unit change from year to year.

In 2007, the topic will be "Representations of the Medieval", an examination of how ideas about the Middle Ages, both learned and popular, have developed, from the first use of the term by historians in the Renaissance to the warrior films of the present day. Themes covered will include the Gothic horror story; Victorian medievalism and the Arts and Crafts Movement; the culture of the "New Age"; and the modern forms of the Arthurian saga. Texts will be drawn from a range of literary and non-literary forms, and will be studied in a broad context of cultural history. The unit will conclude with a study of Umberto Eco's novel, The Name of the Rose.