British Literature and its Contexts from the 18th century to the Present - MA Seminar 1 3301-LBS1USC
The seminar is devoted to modern British literature, with particular emphasis on the ideas and historical contexts shaping subsequent historical and literary eras: the Enlightenment, Romanticism, the Victorian era, aestheticism and modernism, postmodernism. By discussing the history of British literature and culture in the broader context of the emergence of phenomena characteristic of broadly understood modernity (e.g. capitalism, colonialism, industrialization, globalization, social inequalities – including class and gender inequalities, emancipation movements, democratization), the seminar introduces students to the important role of British literature in the formation of influential ideas and currents of thought, and shows the possibility of reading a literary text when outlining a broader context of the political and social realities of a given period. The seminar encourages students to study British literature in the context of, inter alia: social change, relations of power and domination, social movements and visions of social justice, the history of colonialism and capitalism, relations between aesthetics and ideology, approaches to nature and technology. Applying tools of literary criticism as well as the interdisciplinary perspectives of critical theory and the critique of ideology the seminar will cover in particular the selected key aspects of the following thematic areas:
1) Social issues in eighteenth-century English satire;
2) The ideas of the Enlightenment and their revaluation in the Romantic period;
3) The English novel and its development: the picaresque novel, the sentimental novel, the novel of ideas, polyphony, satire and realism in the Victorian novel, the industrial novel, experiments in modernist and postmodernist prose;
4) City and urbanity in British literature;
5) Landscape, nature, travel and tourism;
6) Technology and literature: utopias and dystopias in British literature;
7) Power and violence in literature: subjectivity and society;
8) Gender and queer theories: body, biopolitics, social norms and sexuality;
9) Postcolonial theories and the history of British colonialism and imperialism;
10) Critique of ideology: critical theory, deconstruction and psychoanalysis in literary criticism and the analysis of literary discourse.
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge: the graduate has in-depth familiarity with
K_W01
advanced terminology, theory and research methods corresponding to the state of the art in the disciplines of literary studies and culture and region studies, in accordance with their chosen specialization (and educational path)
K_W04
concepts and principles concerning the protection of intellectual property and copyright
K_W05
economic, legal, ethical and other conditions of the various professional activities related to the field of study
Abilities: the graduate is able to
K_U01
Apply advanced terminology and notions pertinent to the discipline (linguistics, literary studies, culture and religion studies)
K_U01 apply the advanced terminology, theories and research methods of literary studies and culture and religion studies to solve complex and original research problems in accordance with his/her chosen specialization (and educational path)
K_U03 use structures, lexis and language conventions appropriate to the communicative situation (e.g. holding a public debate, giving an academic presentation, etc.) in spoken and written English at the minimum level C2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
K_U04 apply the concepts and principles of intellectual property protection and copyright law
K_U05 apply the knowledge of economic, legal, ethical and other conditions of various professional activities related to the field of study
K_U09 design their own development path and guide others in so doing
Social competences: the graduate is 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
Assessment criteria
Active participation
• Continuous assessment of assignments
To pass the 1st semester of the MA seminar, a student needs to submit a research proposal of his/her MA thesis. To pass the 2nd semester, a student needs to write one chapter of his/her MA thesis. To pass the 3rd semester, a student needs to complete two more chapters of his/her MA thesis. To pass the 4th semester, a student needs to submit a complete MA thesis.
Bibliography
Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Ed. J. A. Cuddon. Penguin, 2014.
A Short History of English Literature. Liliana Sikorska. Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2007.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Abrams, Meyer Howard. New York, NY: Norton, 2000.
The Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism. Ed. Stuart Curran. Cambridge U Press, 2006.
A Concise Companion to the Victorian Novel. Ed. Francis O’Gorman. Blackwell Publishing, 2005
Modern Criticism and Theory. A Reader. Edited by David Lodge. Revised and expanded by Nigel Wood. Pearson Education, 2000.
Modern Literary Theory. Edited by Philip Rice and Patricia Waugh. London: Arnold, 2005.
The Foucault Reader. Edited by Paul Rabinow. Pantheon Books, 1984.
Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory. An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell, 1990.
Eagleton, Terry. The Ideology of the Aesthetic. Oxford: Blackwell, 1993.
Hawkes, David. Ideology. The New Critical Idiom. London and New York: Routledge, 2003.
Williams, Raymond. The Country and the City. New York: Oxford University Press, 1975.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: