UCL - English literature : in-depth study of a theme of English literature

[GERM2724]

[30h] 6 credits

This course is taught in the 1st semester.

This two-yearly course is taught in 2007-2008, 2009-2010,...

Teacher(s): Véronique Bragard

Language: English

Level: Second

Aims
Main themes
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Aims

Students will be expected to show their ability to relate the themes that have been selected to the historical and literary contexts explored in the course. They will have to produce an analysis that demonstrates their familiarity with the issues raised in the course, and with the poetics through which those issues are articulated.

The course is also indirectly meant to increase the students' lexical skills. Their analyses will therefore have to reflect a command of the English language that corresponds to their level (Masters), as well as a good grasp of the various cultural concepts discussed in the module.

Main themes

The course traces the evolution of a particular theme in twentieth-century English literature. Through analyses of works taken from various historical and aesthetic contexts, students explore what kind of role the chosen theme(s) play in the modern imagination. The course also includes the showing and discussion of adaptations for film and television.

Content and teaching methods

(Im)migration Literatures in Comparison

As international migration increasingly becomes a global challenge, this course will offer a comparative examination of several creative texts that convey and interrogate questions related to the experience of (im)migration in English and in French. A first part (in English) will be devoted to forced migrations such as the (second) middle passage that led to slavery and indentureship and recent boatpeople experiences. A second part of the course will tackle the experience of various immigrant communities in the United States over the last century, opening debates around hybridity, cultural negotiation, gender and nationalism. A third part will consider more recent and complex migrations to certain metropolises (Windrush generation, Black British Literature). The next three sections (in French) will focus on France and contemporary immigration cultures, the Algerian question and narratives that interrogate the borders of Fortress Europe. How does migration affect families, identity, gender, and sexuality? How does one write about migration? How does migration affect ones writing? More concretely, this course will consider the different experiences of (im)migration via several novels, poems, and films. The literary texts will be supplemented by readings from Literary Criticism, Cultural Studies, and History which address (im)migration from different perspectives. Major authors will be studied such as Anzia Yezierska, Fred dAguiar, Caryl Phillips, Hanif Kureishi, Fatou Diomé, Nancy Huston, Tahar ben Jelloun, and Azouz Begag.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Prerequisites : an introductory knowledge of English literature and a good proficiency in English (advanced level, B2 + in terms of the Common European reference framework).

Evaluation : Oral and/or written exam. When the course is organised as a seminar, active participation (oral presentation, discussions, term paper) is taken into account.

Teaching material : Secondary literature linked to the topics of the course. Reading of the selected literary works and of critical studies.