Close Reading of a Major British Text: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 3301-LB2056-1ST
The course focuses on a close reading of Charles Dickens’s 13th novel, "Great Expectations," which was originally published as a serial in Dickens’s weekly journal, "All the Year Round," from December 1, 1860, to August 1861. The novel will be thoroughly examined in relation to its literary, historical, and cultural context, including its selected film adaptation. The literary context of the novel includes aspects such as genre (Bildungsroman, the sentimental tradition, the Gothic tradition, picaresque novel, social satire, sensation novel), narrative technique, focalization, language and style, imagery and symbolism, intertextual references to other works (e.g. to "Frankenstein," "Hamlet"), the novel’s two alternative endings, and its grotesque, tragi-comic elements. The historical and cultural background encompasses its contemporary reception, recurring themes (gentlemen and gentle men, industry and idleness, respectability and crime, parents and children), and selected contemporary essays discussing cultural debates surrounding the term “gentleman,” Victorian prisons, the justice system, the criminal underworld, prosecution and punishment, as well as a concise biography of the author.
Alongside the novel, the following contemporary documents are included in the course reading list:
- Charles Dickens, “Hard Experiences in Boyhood,” in John Forster The Life of Charles Dickens (1872-4)
- Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, “Gentlemen,” Cornhill Magazine (March 1862)
- William Sewell, “Gentlemanly Manners,” Sermons to Boys at Radley School (1854-69)
- Samuel Smiles, “Character: The True Gentleman,” Self-Help (1859)
- John Ruskin, “Of Vulgarity,” Modern Painters (1860)
- Charles Dickens, “Criminal Courts,” Sketches by Boz (1839)
- Charles Dickens, “A Visit to Newgate,” Sketches by Boz (1839)
- “The Autobiography of a Convict,” Voices of Our Exiles (1854)
- John Binny, “Thieves and Swindlers,” in London Labour and London Poor (1861-2)
- Thomas Beard, “A Dialogue Concerning Convicts,” All the Year Round (11 may 1861)
- Charles Dickens, “The Ruffian,” The Uncommercial Traveller (1868)
BA programme
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
Students will have familiarity with:
K_W01: advanced terminology, theories, and research methods corresponding to the state of the art in the disciplines of literary studies and cultural and regional studies within the domain of English Studies, pertaining to literary and cultural scholarship on "Great Expectations"
Abilities
Students will be able to:
K_U01: apply advanced terminology, theories, and research methods corresponding to the state of the art in the disciplines of literary studies and cultural and regional studies within the domain of English Studies, pertaining to literary and cultural scholarship on "Great Expectations"
K_U08 apply the concepts and principles of intellectual property protection and copyright law
Social competences
Students will be ready to:
K_K01 critically appraise their knowledge and content obtained from various sources
K_K02 recognize the importance of knowledge in solving cognitive and practical problems; consult experts when required
Applies to students who began their studies in the year 2022/2023
Knowledge
Students will have familiarity with:
K_W02 key terminology, established methods, and major theories in literary studies and cultural studies within English Studies, with particular reference to approaches used in the analysis and interpretation of Dickens’s "Great Expectations"
K_W03 methodology and recent developments in English‑language literary and cultural scholarship relevant to Victorian studies and Dickens studies, including current critical debates surrounding "Great Expectations"
K_W05 the characteristic features of English literary language—its stylistic, rhetorical, and narrative dimensions—at an advanced level, as exemplified in Dickens’s prose style, narrative technique, and use of imagery and symbolism in "Great Expectations"
K_W07 principles of designing research in literary and cultural studies, with particular focus on selecting appropriate methods and tools for formulating research questions related to Victorian literature, Dickens’s oeuvre, and the cultural contexts of "Great Expectations"
Abilities
Students will be able to:
K_U01 employ the terminology and methodological tools from literary studies and culture studies
K_U02 employ the methodology of literary and culture studies within English studies, respecting the ethical norms and copyright law
K_U04 implement knowledge to describe a problem and identify means to solve it, thereby completing a project in literary studies and in culture and religion studies
K_U11 design one’s own development
Social competences
Students will be ready to:
K_K02 undertake life-long learning and personal development, applying skills and competences to select subjects and projects optimally suiting one’s personal interests
K_K03 value responsibility for one’s own work and respect the work of others, adhering to the professional and ethical norms in various projects and other activities undertaken at work, voluntary services, etc.
Assessment criteria
- Two written mid-term tests (verification of learning outcomes: W, U)
- Assessment of the clarity, accuracy, and coherence of the oral response to an assigned topic (verification of learning outcomes: W, U, K)
- Assessment of short written and oral tasks completed during classes (verification of learning outcomes: W, U, K)
The use of generative artificial intelligence tools during written tests and oral responses is not permitted.
Up to 3 absences are allowed.
Bibliography
Dickens, Charles. "Great Expectations," edited by Edgar Rosenberg, W. W. Norton & Company, 1999.
Paroissien, David. "The Companion to Great Expectations." Helm Information Ltd, 2000.
Schlicke, Paul. "The Oxford Companion to Charles Dickens." OUP, 2011.
Page, Norman, ed. "Dickens Casebook: Hard Times, Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend." Macmillan, 1979.
Selected contemporary documents pertaining to the novel:
- contemporary responses to the novel
- contemporary documents concerning the issues of class and language, crime and punishment
Selected critical readings of the novel, e.g. Julian Moynahan, “The Hero’s Guilt—The Case of Great Expectations” (1960); Barbara Hardy, “The Dickensian Feast” (1970); Michal Peled Ginsburg, “Dickens and the Uncanny: Repression and Displacement in Great Expectations” (1984)