30649 - English Literature 2 (2nd cycle)

Learning outcomes

The students must have an in-depth knowedge of the history of English Literature, a critical insight into its most important texts, and they must be able to evaluate their literary qualities and to analyse them in a transational and comparative prespective. At the end of the course they must have acquired the theoretical and methodological tools to be able to discuss, and examine the works included in the syllabus, relating them to their historical and cultural context.

Course contents

English Fiction and the Empire: a Contrapuntal Reading

The aim of the course is to detect and analyse the references to the British Empire to be found in a series of English novels written both in Colonial and Postcolonial years. Following Edward W. Said's theories, the students will be invited to attempt a contrapuntal reading of the texts.

Readings/Bibliography

Primary sources:

Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Rudyard Kipling, Kim, "The Mark of the Beast","The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes"

Julian Barnes, Arthur and George

Critical sources (Partial list) (a complete list will be published by the beginning of the lessons)

Edward W. Said, Culture and Imperialism (chapters 1 and 2 (paragraphs 1, 2, 5, 6, 8 - any edition)

Lionel Trilling, "In Mansfield Park", http://www.unz.org/Pub/Encounter-1954sep-00009

Daniel Bivona, Desire and Contradiction, Manchester U.P. 1990 (sections on Conrad and Kipling)

Salman Rushdie, "Kipling", in Id., Imaginary Homelands, London, Granta Books, 1991.

Chinua Achebe, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness' Massachusetts Review. 18. 1977. http://kirbyk.net/hod/image.of.africa.html

Christine Berberich; "All Letters Quoted Are Authentic": the Past after Postmodern Fabulation in Julian Barnes' Arthur and George", in Sebastian Groes, Peter Childs (a cura di), Julian Barnes: Contemporary Critical Prespectives, London, Continuum, 2011.

Peter Childs, "Convinction and Prejudice" in Id., Julian Barnes, Manchester University Press, 2011.

Stefano Manferlotti, "Introduzione" a C. Dickens, Il mistero di Edwin Drood, Roma, Gargoyle, 2012, pp. 8-20.

Silvia Albertazzi, La Letteratura postcoloniale. Dall'Impero alla World Literature, Roma, Carocci, 2013.

BIBLIOGRAPHY IN PROGRESS. Please check this site before the beginning of the course for further information.

During the lessons, the teacher will suggest further readings.

Teaching methods

Seminar lessons. An active participation of the students is required.

Languages requested: English AND Italian. Although the language of the course is English, to ensure a complete understanding some themes may be dealt with also in Italian.

Bibliography and critical tools will also be suggested during the course. For this reason some critical sources might be changed during lessons. Please check this web page during the course.

This is a post-graduate course, intended for graduate students only. Erasmus and Overseas students are kindly requested to contact prof. Albertazzi during her office hourse (NOT by e-mail) before the beginning of the course.

Assessment methods

The students are warmly recommended to read as many novels as possible during the course: the discussion of their reading in class will be highly appreciated. The students must be able to contextualize the literary works. They must show a deep knowledge of English literature and of the social and political history of British colonisation and decolonisation. They must have read all the primary sources and all the critical texts in the syllabus and must be able to use an appropriate critical language to analyse them, avoiding impressionistic and/or superficial criticism. Students who present incomplete programs will not be accepted.

Please note that this is an exam of English literature: fluency in the English language is not enough to pass it.

Students are kindly requested to check the following URL for office hours and further information: http://www.unibo.it/SitoWebDocente/default.htm?upn=silvia.albertazzi%40unibo.it&TabControl1=TabContatti .

For any infomation on programs, exams and any explanation, please do not write e-mails, but come to talk to the teacher during her office hours.

Teaching tools

Video and Audio supports will be used. An active participation is required: students are invited to discuss the themes of the course in class and to attempt their own contrapuntal readings.

This is a post-graduate course, intended for graduate students only. The students who attend it must be familiar with the history of English literature from the beginning to the present day. Erasmus and Overseas students are kindly requested to contact prof. Albertazzi during her office hours (NOT by e-mail) before the beginning of the course. Undergraduate students who have no knowledge (or a poor knowledge) of English Literature are kindly requested to choose another subject.

Office hours

See the website of Silvia Albertazzi