Course syllabus autumn 2009
Course syllabus autumn 2009
Title
Approaching the English Canon
Swedish title
Approaching the English Canon
Course code
EN224E
Credits
7.5 credits
Grading scale
UV / Fail (U), Pass (G) or Pass with Distinction (VG)
Language of instruction
English
Decision-making body
Board of Studies at Faculty of Culture and Society
Syllabus approval date
2009-08-24
Syllabus valid from
2009-09-01
Entry requirements
English 1-30 hp or equivalent.
Level
Basic level
Main field
English
Progression level
G1F
Progression level in relation to degree requirements
The course can normally be included as a part of a general degree at undergradate level.
The course content overlaps with the course English II (EN102E).
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 module concentrates on close readings of selected texts divided into three sections, each with their own separate focus. The module proceeds 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 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
- can show knowledge of Malmö University’s perspectives: environment, gender, and migration and ethnicity.
Applying knowledge and understanding
After finishing the course, the student:
- 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.
- 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
Learning activities are lectures, seminars, written assignments and self-studies of course literature.
Assessment
The module is examined through one individual paper and a written exam. 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 student must receive a passing grade in all examination elements to pass the course.
The course is graded using the Swedish system of Väl Godkänd (Pass with distinction), Godkänd (Pass) and Underkänd (Fail), together with the ECTS-grading system of A, B, C, D, E, F(x), and F.
Course literature and other study material
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
Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Oxford School Shakespeare. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2006. ISBN 0198321511
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein: The 1818 Text, Contexts, Nineteenth-
Century Responses, Modern Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. ISBN:
9780393964585
Course evaluation
All students are offered an opportunity to give oral or written feedback at the end of the course. A summary of the results will be made available in the school’s web-pages. The students are also given a possibility to offer feedback for each module.
Student participation takes place through the course council/program council.