spring 2017
ENG-1110 Introduction to British Studies - 10 ECTS
Course content
The British Studies syllabus will be organized into two to three week blocks, which focus on particular historical periods and investigate specific literary and cultural texts within British 'national' and international historical contexts. The modules in the course are focused on developing higher-level reading skills, interpretative writing skills, and a theoretical understanding of contextual analysis of literary writing in particular periods of British literature from 1600 to 2015. The course focuses on a range of poetic, dramatic, and fictional forms in different time periods. We will explore how to understand these texts through analyzing genres, historical and literary contexts, language choices, and formal reading and critical strategies. These modules also develop your confidence in speaking and writing about literary/critical concepts, cultural analysis, and literary genres in British Literary Studies.
The course will introduce the student to the techniques of close textual reading of literary and cultural texts in British literature; develop an appreciation of the historical and literary conditions under which texts have been produced; examine the development of specific genres within historical time periods; and ask the student to write essays, response papers, and do different forms of academic research about the texts on the reading list using the vocabulary and strategies of literary study.
Please note that a study trip of two weeks to The Norwegian Study Center, York University is part of the course, and it is expected that those students who desire to participate will have places. There are usually enough places for those students seeking to attend but recently numbers have increased so please do not rush off to purchase air tickets until meetings about this course have been held. The course in York runs in Weeks 13 and 14, 2017, that is from 27.03. to 07.04. 2017. Specific Information on this study trip will be available during the first and second week of the course, and we will have discussions in preparation during the first weeks of the semester.
Objectives of the course
Knowledge and understanding:- some knowledge of the history and society of the British Isles in different historical periods- understanding of the interplay between culture and literature in British history and culture- insight into the main formal and thematic characteristics of literary genres- in-depth knowledge of individual texts of the periodSkills:- familiarity with a diversity of texts and genres of British Literature - proficiency in close reading, analysis, and interpretation of literature- to be able to write persuasively and effectively in academic EnglishTeaching methods
The course will meet for four hours (two hours lecture and two hours discussion section) each week during 13 teaching weeks of the semester. Please see Fronter for specific details. Any course changes in meeting times will be announced on Fronter and study questions and discussion material will be available on Fronter or at the course meetings.
Quality assurance: All courses undergo a halfway evaluation once in a 3-year period at the bachelor¿s level.
Assessment
Assessment method: One six hour written school exam
The course mark is solely determined by a six-hour school exam at the end of the course, but no student can sit the school exam until they have passed both work requirements. Performance in the course will be assessed on an A-F grades scale. Grades are A-E for passed and F for failed. A re-sit examination is offered in the event of an F grade. The deadline to register for a re-sit examination is January 15th for the autumn semester and August 15th for the spring semester.
Assessment activities involve:
- Coursework 1 includes two components: an 80% attendance requirement spread throughout the semester, and a series of short writing assignments between Weeks 4-9 written in discussion sections. These will include summaries, close readings and explications of texts, and thematic and contextual analysis.
- Coursework 2: One project paper (5-6 pages/1750-2100 wordsigns).
- Coursework are pass/fail. Each student has the opportunity to receive feedback on their coursework, provided that they are done at times specified and submitted within the posted deadlines. Some of the writing assignments in discussion section will be assessed by students within the class.
- Participation in one of the two-hour discussion sections of the course will be expected throughout the semester.
- Final 'school exam': The course mark is solely determined by a six-hour school exam in Wiseflow at the end of the course, but no student can sit the school exam until they have passed the listed Coursework.
All written work is based on the following standard: Times New Roman, 12, 1,5, 2,5 cm.
Recommended reading/syllabus
Required Books to be purchased, ENG-1110, 2017
Most of the primary texts discussed in detail in the course syllabus are available in The Norton Anthology of English Literature (Volumes One and Two volume, 9th edition Volume One ISBN: 9780393912470. (Volume Two ISBN: 9780393912487).
Sense and Sensibility (1811), Jane Austin, (Penguin Classics) Reissue Edition ISBN-10: 0141439661 ISBN-13: 978-0141439662
Hard Times for these Times, Charles Dickens (1854) (Penguin Classics) ed. Kate Flint ISBN-10: 014143967X ISBN-13: 978-0141439679
Lonely Londoners, Sam Selvon, (1956) The Lonely Londoners (Penguin Modern Classics) ISBN-10: 0141188413 ISBN-13: 978-0141188416
Saturday, Ian McEwan, (2005) Saturday, New York or London: Vintage, 2006. ISBN: 978009946968
Required Secondary Text:
The English Handbook, A Guide to Literary Studies, A Guide to Literary Studies. William Whitla, Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
Error rendering component
- About the course
- Campus: Tromsø |
- ECTS: 10
- Course code: ENG-1110
- Responsible unit
- Department of Language and Culture
- Contact persons