67173 - English Literature / Literature of English-speaking Countries 1(LM)

Learning outcomes

The student has a deep knowledge of British and Postcolonial Modern Literatures in English, with particular regard to the relationships between literary texts and history, language and the arts. She/he is able to use critical methodologies to read and analyze literary texts. This course is intended for graduate students only. Erasmus and Overseas undergraduates and students who do not have a general knowledge of the principal authors and movements of English and/or North American literature are kindly requested not to choose this course.

Even though the course is in English, knowledge of the Italian language is appreciated.

Course contents

Dickens at the Antipodes

After a first part on postcolonial theory, the course deals with Australian and New Zealand re-writing of Dicken's novel, Great Eaxpectations, and on works from the same countries where Dickens appears as a fictional character.

This is a post-graduate course. Undergraduates and students who have never studied the new literatures in English and/or do not have a general knowledge of the principal authors and movements of English and/or North American literature are kindly requested not to choose this course.

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

On postcolonial literature:

C. L. Innes, Cambridge Introduction to Postcolonial Literature in English, Cambridge U.P., 2007.

All the students must know the essays on Virtuale.

All the Erasmus and Overseas students are kindly requested to contact Professor Albertazzi  to arrange an alternative critical reading list.

Erasmus and Overseas students who can read Italian can refer to the Italian programme.

All the students who attend  regularly  must read the following novels:

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Peter Carey, Jack Maggs

Lloyd Jones, Mr Pip

Richard Flanagan, Wanting

The students who do not attend regularly must read one more novel by Peter Carey, from the following list. They will be asked to identify the Dickensian elements in it, which they must be able to detect with the help of the teaching materials uploaded on  Virtuale and by doing personal research on Dickens narrative:

Hillywhacker

The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith

Parrot and Oliver in America

A Long Way from Home

Critical Texts:

E. W. Said, Culture and Imperialism, New York, Vintage, 1994, 62-80. (cap. 2, #1)

John Thieme, Post-colonial Con-texts. Writing Back to the Canon, pp. 102-126.

Michael Wheeler, English Fiction of the Victorian Period 1830-1890, London, Longman, 1985, pp. 100-102.

M. R. Dolce, "Peter Carey reinventa le Grandi Speranze dickensiane: dal capolavoro vittoriano a Jack Maggs" in G. Scatasta, F. Zullo (a cura di), The Invention(s) of Charles Dickens, Bologna, BUP, 2014, pp. 211-226.

Federico Bertoni, Dickens e il romanzo europeo: Great Expectations, in G. Scatasta, F. Zullo (a cura di), The Invention(s) of Charles Dickens, Bologna, BUP, 2014, pp. 211-226.

Federica Zullo, "Imperial Discourses and Colonial Subjects in the Dickensian World" in F. Zullo, Metropolis, Empire and Modernity, Bologna, BUP, 2015, pp. 20-55.

Mario Domenichelli, Lo scriba e l'oblio, Pisa, ETS, 2011, pp. 90-97.

All the students must study Innes and Said, and read the novels and all the materials on IOL, which eill be uploaded by the teacher at the end of the lessons.

During the course, the students will be asked to do research on the novels in group B. The results of these reaserches will be uploaded on IOL and evaluated at the exam.

All the students must see the following films/videos:

D. Lean, Great Expectations

A. Adamson, Mr. Pip

ERASMUS AND OVERSEAS STUDENTS AND ALL THE STUDENTS WHO DO NOT ATTEND REGULARLY ARE KINDLY ASKED TO CONTACT THE TEACHER TO ARRANGE WITH HER A DIFFERENT PROGRAMME.

 

 

Teaching methods

Seminar lessons, in English. A series of videos will be shown and discussed during the course. During the course, the students will be invited to discuss the films, and to do rersearch on the novels og group B. The results of these researches will be uploaded on IOL and evaluated during the exam. For this reason, they are required to attend the film screenings and to read the novels while the lessons are in progress.

Please note that the most difficult topics are to be dealt with also in Italian.

Languages requested: English AND Italian.

 

Assessment methods

Oral exam, in two parts:

1) Postcolonial theory; outline of postcolonial literary history (to be prepared on C.Innes' Cambridge Introduction to Postcolonial Literatures in English). Only those who pass this part will be admitted to the second one.

2) Discussion and critical analysis of two or more of the novels chosen by the students.

The final mark will be averaged out between the two parts and the results of their researches. 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 general knowledge of the outline of the history of British colonisation and decolonisation, and they must know the most important Postcolonial theorists and their ideas as well as the most important writers of Postcolonial literature in English. They must be able to use an appropriate critical language and must avoid impressionistic and/or superficial criticism.

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 .

Teaching tools

Primary texts, critical books, reference books, journals and magazines, video and audio supports. Collaboration of Phd students and experts of the field.

Office hours

See the website of Silvia Albertazzi