English Literature Syllabus Overview
Overview This course will introduce students to key concepts of literary study and scholarship by examining selected texts through the lens of particular critical approaches. The topics covered by this course will provide a solid foundation for future study of literature at university and give students the tools and knowledge to approach challenging texts with confidence. You are encouraged to read online book reviews and synopses of the texts listed in the ‘We will be reading’ sections below. The texts listed on the ‘We will be reading’ sections indicate the texts that will be considered during each topic. Please don’t feel overwhelmed with the quantity listed, and you will not be expected to necessarily have read all (if any) of the texts! Dr Camilla Cassidy was awarded her DPhil in English Literature at Oxford University where she tutors undergraduate courses on a range of literary topics.
Overview Topic: Critical Commentary and Analysis Summary: In this module we will explore close reading as a method of literary analysis. Students will develop the confidence to make detailed readings of literary texts and to structure essays based on this analysis. We will use this as a stepping off point to discuss the merits and limitations of reading without context and the field of study known as New Criticism proposed by the Cambridge academic F.R. Leavis, which took literature out of its historical context, and read without any knowledge of the author or period which couldn’t be discovered simply from the words on the page. We will be reading: •Selections from The Norton Anthology of Poetry Topic: What is a Novel? Summary: This module will introduce students to key texts and debates around Genre Theory and ask how we can define literary texts. We will read Mikhail Bakhtin’s famous and influential essay ‘Epic and Novel: Towards a Methodology for the Study of the Novel’ and use it to think about how and why we define
Want to read all 7 pages?
Previewing 4 of 7 pages Upload your study docs or become a member.
Want to read all 7 pages?
Previewing 4 of 7 pages Upload your study docs or become a member.
End of preview
Want to read all 7 pages? Upload your study docs or become a member.