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 students are kindly requested to contact Prof. Albertazzi during her office hourse (NOT by e-mail) before the beginning of the course. Undergraduates and students who have never studied the new literatures in English at home 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.

Course contents

The aim of the course is to deepen the students’ knowledge of the Literatures written in English all over the world, and the main Postcolonial theories. This year, after an Introduction on Postcolonial studies, the focus will be on the Australian author Peter Carey.

This is a post-graduate course. Undergraduates and students who have never studied the new literatures in English at home 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

Compulsory Readings:

S. Albertazzi, La letteratura postcoloniale. Dall'Impero alla World Literature, Roma, Carocci, 2013.

Or:

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

All the students must read the all following works by Peter Carey:

Novels

Oscar and Lucinda

Jack Maggs

His Illegal Self 

Short Stories

“American Dreams”, “Report from the Shadow Industry”, “Peeling”, "Crabs", "Do you love me?"

The students who are not attending the whole course, besides the above mentioned novels and short stories, must read another novel by Peter Carey of their choice.  

All the students must see the following films:

G. Armstrong, Oscar and Lucinda

P. Weir, The Cars that Ate Paris

W. Wenders, Until the End of the World

G. Jordan, Ned Kelly

For Further Reading (compulsory readings for non attending students)

• Anthony J. Hassall,Dancing on hot Macadam : Peter Carey's fiction, St Lucia (Queensland), University of Queensland press, 1994; chapter: “Crystal Palace: Oscar and Lucinda”, pp. 117-143 and chapter on Carey's shorto stories.
• G. Huggan, Peter Carey, Oxford Universiity Press, 1996
• M. R. Dolce, Dialoghi con la storia: Peter Carey e il nuovo romanzo storico, Lecce, Pensa Multimedia, 2000.
• S. Albertazzi, "A History of Glass: Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda in G. Martella, E. Ilardi (eds.), Hii-Story : the Rewriting of History in Contemporary Fiction, Napoli, Liguori, 2009, pp. 71-75.
• S. Albertazzi, "Nowhere, Now/Here, Anywhere: Postcolonial Non-Places", in F. Cattani, A. Nadalini (eds.), The Representation and Transformation of Literary Landscapes, Venezia, Cafoscarina, 2006.
• S. Albertazzi, Belli e perdenti. Antieroi e post-eroi nella narrativa contemporanea di lingua inglese, pp. 79-93
• S. Albertazzi, "Texts Instead": la narrazione (postcoloniale) nell'epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica" in S. Bassi, S. Bertacco e R. Bonicelli, In that Village of Open Doors, Venezia, Cafoscarina, 2002, pp. 9-18.
• J. Thieme, "Turned uspide down? Dickens' Australian and Peter Carey's Jack Maggs in J. Thieme, Postcolonial Con-Texts. Writing Back to the Canon, London, continuum, 2001, pp. 102-126.

The Students who have not attended regularly must study ALL the above essays that are written in English and must read one more novel by Peter Carey.

All the texts "For further reading" are to be found either at the LILEC Library or at the Centro Studi sulle Letterature Omeoglotte, study room n. 34, LILEC Dept. Xerox copies of them will be found at LILEC Library and at Centro Studi Omeoglotti by the beginning of the course.

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 novels they are reading. For this reason, they are required to read at least one novel 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 five novels chosen by the students (as for programme 2014/2015).

The final mark will be averaged out between the two parts. 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.

Please note that this is an exam of English Literature: fluency in the English language is not enough to pass it.

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 .

For any infomation on the programs, the exams and any further explanation, please do not write e-mails, but come to talk to the teacher during her office hours.

Teaching tools

Primary texts, critical books, reference books, journals and magazines, video and audio supports.

Office hours

See the website of Silvia Albertazzi