One and Unequal: World Literature and English
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| ENGL3103 | English | 3 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- ENGL3103
- School
- English
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
World Literature examines the late twentieth and early twenty-first century globe through its correlates in fiction. The primary materials for the course will be post-war Anglophone works drawn from a wide geographical range across the world. After introducing the history of the idea of world literature, these works will be situated within a series of theoretical ‘worlds’: world literary systems; post-colonial criticism; cosmopolitanism; world ecologies; resource culture; literary translation theory. The module will also attend to critiques of 'world literature’ as a concept.
Target Students
Only available for final-year students on SH and JH English programmes; including 2+2 programmes; students participating in exchanges from the School partner institutions; and final-year students on the Liberal Arts programme.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 11 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 11 weeks
Assessment
- 20% Development Exercise: 1 x 1000 word essay
- 80% Essay: 1 x 3000 word essay
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
At the conclusion of the course, students will have knowledge of the following distinct critical concepts:Definitions of ‘world literature’, as a discipline in literary studies, as a theory of literary relationships, as a canon of works, or as a historiography.The development and form of fiction in various Anglophone global contexts.World literary systems; postcolonial criticism; ecocriticism; postmodernism; intertextuality.English as a global language of literary production, including the ‘cultural turn’ in translation studies.The history, implications, and critiques of globalisation.Wider philosophical and theoretical issues in contemporary literature.Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding:
- A1: critical and theoretical approaches to the study of twentieth- and twenty-first century Anglophone literature from a variety of global contexts.
- A2: literary, cultural and historical contexts for the global novel and short fiction; national traditions; literature and neo-colonialism; the politics of English-language writing.
- A5: interaction of genre and specific thematic concerns in contemporary world literature;
- A6: enquiry into the political function of disciplinary ‘English Literature’; relationship between literary studies and politics/sociology/cultural studies.
Intellectual skills:
- B1: engage in close and logical analysis of texts and arguments;
- B2: think independently while giving due weight to the arguments of others;
- B3: an understanding of complex ideas, and the ability to relate them to specific problems or questions.
Professional / practical skills:
- C1: articulate knowledge and understanding of literary, linguistic and theoretical concepts relating to Anglophone literary studies, using appropriate terminology;
- C2: analyse contemporary global texts with an awareness of how circumstances of convention and/or audience affect what they communicate;
- C3: write accurately and grammatically, demonstrating awareness of the importance of style and register in communication, and present written material using conventions appropriate to literary work, including bibliographies;
- C4: construct and communicate a sustained analysis of contemporary world literature, verbally and in writing;
- C5: carry out research (including the use of scholarly resources and databases), to evaluate the material so acquired and use it appropriately.
Transferable skills:
- D1: Work productively with others
- D2: communicate effectively in written work;
- D4: organise and manage working time, including scheduling tasks and meeting deadlines.