Title
Approaching the English Canon
Swedish title
Approaching the English Canon
Grading scale
UV / Fail (U), Pass (G) or Pass with Distinction (VG)
Language of instruction
English
Decision-making body
Board of Studies at the Department of International Migration and Ethnic Relations
Syllabus approval date
2008-02-01
Syllabus valid from
2008-02-01
Entry requirements
Students must be registered for one of the following programmes: English Studies, International Migration and Ethnic Relations, Language and Cultural Studies or the course English II.
Special requirements: Documented knowledge of the English language at a level to English course B in the Swedish secondary school system (TOEFL 550p, IELTS 6.0 overall score) is required.
Level
Basic level
Main field
English
Progression level
G1N
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to deepen students’ understanding of the historical development of literature and culture in the English speaking world at the same time as it discusses the phenomenon of canon formation. The course also aims at improving students’ writing skills.
Course contents
This course is an introduction to the canon of English literature from Shakespeare to the postmodern/postcolonial novel of the 21st century. The course will focus on close readings of selected texts divided into three sections, each with their own separate focus. The course will proceed through a combination of lectures and seminars, with the aim of deepening students’ understanding of the historical development of literature and culture in the English speaking world at the same time as it discusses the phenomenon of canon formation.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
After finishing the course, the student:
understands and practices writing as a process that includes prewriting, drafting, writing, rewriting, peer review and editing;
can vary his or her prose along a continuum from closed to open forms depending on purpose, audience, occasion and rhetorical context;
has knowledge of some of the canonical texts of English literature, their historical context, and of literary history as a field;
has a basic understanding of canon formation and the debates surrounding it, and
can show knowledge of Malmö University’s perspectives: International Migration and Ethnic Relations, Nature and Resource Management, and Equality and Gender.
Skills and ability
After finishing the course, the student:
can structure academic essays according to MLA styles;
can quote secondary sources and cite them accurately according to MLA methods. The student, thus, also understands what plagiarism is and how to avoid it;
can perform basic analyses of literary texts;
is able to read literary texts closely and sensitively with a particular attention to their historical and aesthetic contexts;
demonstrates the ability to work to agreed timetables, manage workloads, and meet deadlines, and
can apply knowledge of Malmö University’s perspectives to issues pertaining to literature.
Critical skills and approach
After finishing the course, the student:
can reflect on how identities and meanings are constructed and contested through different kinds of engagement with the/a literary canon.
Learning activities
A combination of resources is available, including lectures, seminars, self-study, and library research.
Assessment
The course is examined through two individual papers (one on each of the last two section of the course). In the papers students have a chance to demonstrate their ability to read and interpret the literature closely and sensitively in relation to historical and aesthetic contexts. The students will also have a chance to exhibit their ability to structure arguments rhetorically and to display their knowledge of the conventions of usage, specialised vocabulary, format and documentation in the humanities.
The papers are graded in the ECTS-scale. The total grade for the course is the amalgamate grade of the two papers (Essay #1: 500%, Essay #2: 50%)
If the student fails a paper, a new paper can be submitted two weeks after the course has finished. Students have a minimum of two re-take opportunities.
Course literature and other study material
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism. New York: Norton, 2000. ISBN: 0393976041
Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights: The 1847 Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. New York ; London: Norton, 2003. ISBN: 0393978893
Coetzee, J. M. Disgrace. London: Vintage, 2000. ISBN: 0099284820
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. Penguin Modern Classics London: Penguin, 2001. ISBN: 0141184426
Milton, John, and Gordon Teskey. Paradise Lost: Authoritative Text, Sources and Backgrounds, Criticism. New York ; London: W.W. Norton, 2005. ISBN: 0393924289
Morrison, Toni. Paradise. London: Vintage, 1999. ISBN: 0099768216
Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing. 4th ed. New York: Pearson and Longman, 2006. ISBN: 0321291506.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet: The Texts of 1603 and 1623. London: Arden Shakespeare, 2006. ISBN: 9781904271802
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein: The 1818 Text, Contexts, Nineteenth-Century Responses, Modern Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. ISBN: 9780393964585
Woolf, Virginia. To the Lighthouse. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN: 0192805606
Additional material may be introduced in the course, but no more than 100 pages.
Course evaluation
Evaluation is an integral part of the course. A final written evaluation based on the learning outcomes is done at the end of the course. This evaluation is used as a starting point for an oral evaluation which includes a discussion of measures to be taken to develop the course. The result of the evaluation is summarized and made available in a report to be used as a basis for future courses.