Course Catalogue

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This course examines the celebrated life, correspondence, poetry and songs, and also the cultural after-life of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns.

10 x 1hr lecture and 10 x 1hr seminar over 11 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus. 

This is one of the Honours options in Scottish Literature and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into Scottish Literature, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

SCOTLIT1014 Robert Burns (Online Distance Learning)

None.

The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Essay (2,500 words) - 60% 

■ Critical Exercise (1,500 words) - 40% 

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the assessments, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.

[No exceptions]

This course aims to:

■ examine the life and works of Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

■ interpret the poetry, song and prose of Robert Burns in the context of Scottish history and culture

■ facilitate engagement with diverse cultural materials and foster understanding of the construction of Robert Burns's reputation as a universally recognised literary figure.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ discuss the significance of Robert Burns both in terms of his stature as a poet and song-writer and his status as a national and, indeed, international writer;

■ situate Burns in the context of his own period and Scottish literature and culture in general;

■ critically examine the nature of the Burns cult and its manifestation beyond the text and in popular culture.