Application deadline

Applicants from Nordic countries: 1 December for courses offered in the spring semester and 1 June for courses offered in the autumn semester.

Exchange students and Fulbright students: 1 October for courses offered in the spring semester and 15 April for courses offered in the autumn semester.

Type of course

Admission requirements

Higher Education Entrance Qualification (generell studiekompetanse) or prior learning and work experience (realkompetanse).

Application code: 9199 - Enkeltemner (ikke realfag), lavere grad (Nordic applicants).

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 the present. 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.

Objectives of the course

The students have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student has:

• 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 period

Skills

• 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 English

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching 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 Canvas for specific details. Any course changes in meeting times will be announced on Canvas and study questions and discussion material will be available on Canvas or at the course meetings.

Regular attendance in lectures and seminars is highly recommended.

A voluntary study trip (two weeks) to the Norwegian Study Centre in York is offered as part of the course.

Quality assurance: All courses undergo a halfway evaluation once in a 3-year period at the bachelor´s level.

Information to incoming exchange students

This course is available for inbound exchange students. There are no academic prerequisites to add this course to your Learning Agreement. A good command of oral and written English is recommended.

Do you have questions about this module? Please check the following website to contact the course coordinator for exchange students at the faculty: INBOUND STUDENT MOBILITY: COURSE COORDINATORS AT THE FACULTIES | UiT

Assessment

Coursework requirements: 3 compulsory written assignments of varying length that will be graded approved/not approved. Regular attendance in lectures and seminars is highly recommended.

Assessment method: One six-hour written (digital) school exam in WISEflow.

The grade 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 their work requirements.

Grading: Performance in the course will be assessed with the grades A-F. Grades are A-E for passed and F for failed. A re-sit examination is offered in in the beginning of the following semester in cases of grade F. A postponed examination is offered in the beginning of the following semester if the student is unable to take the final exam due to illness or other exceptional circumstances. 

The deadline for registering (via the Studentweb) for the re-sit/postponed examination is 15 August (for spring semester exams). The new exam date will be announced in the Studentweb approximately in the beginning of September (for spring semester exams).

Recommended reading/syllabus