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 hours (NOT by e-mail) before the beginning of the 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.

Course contents

Beautiful Losers: the Loser as Antihero in Contemporary Postcolonial Fiction

This course analyses the loser as a key-figure of Postcolonial Literature.

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 use and the importance of music in Postcolonial fiction.

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 iol.

All the Erasmus and Overseas students are kindly requested to contact Professor Albertazzi during her office hours BEFORE the beginning of the course to arrange an alternative critical reading list.

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

All the students must read the following novels:

Leonard Cohen, Beautiful Losers

Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children

Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda

All the students must see the following films/videos:

D. Mehta, Midnight's Children

G. Armstrong, Oscar and Lucinda

D. Cronenberg, M. Butterfly

All the students must read at least one of the following essays on each novel:

Silvia Albertazzi, Leonard Cohen. Manuale per vivere nella sconfitta, Milano, Paginauno, 2018, pp. 98-118.

Frank Davey, Beautiful Losers: Leonard Cohen's Post-Colonial Novel" in S. Scobie (ed.), Intricate Preparations. Writing Leonard Cohen, Toronto, ECW Press, 2000, pp. 12-23.

Peter Wilkins, "Nightmares of Identity: Nationalism and Loss in Beautiful Losers", in S. Scobie (ed), Intricate Preparations, Toronto, ECW Press, 2000, pp. 24-50.

Salman Rushdie, "Imaginary Homelands", "Errata, or Unreliable Narration in Midnight's Children", "The Riddle of Midnight", in S. Rushdie, Imaginary Homelands, Granta Books, 1991.

Anthony J. Hassall, Dancing on Hot Macadam. Peter Carey's Fiction, University of Queensland Press, 1994 (capitolo su Oscar and Lucinda).

Alison Lee, Realism and Power. Postmodern British Fiction, London, Routledge, 1990, pp. 40-46.

Jean-Pierre Durix, "The Magician of History: Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children" in J-P. 

Durix, The Writer Written, New York, Greenwood Press, 1987, pp. 119-139*.

Ralph J. Crane, "The Chutnification of History" in R. J. Crane, Inventing India. A History of India in English-Language Fiction, London, Macmillan, 1987, pp. 170-189*.

The Students who have not attended regularly must study ALL the above essays.

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.

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, the songs and the novels they are reading. 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. 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