This course examines short stories written by authors based in Britain and Ireland, and in particular will explore the representation of nationality, identity, the supernatural, language, the family, money, romantic love, sexual desire, friendship and art. The course will employ an eclectic theoretical framework to contextualise the works we will discuss, from Freud to Kierkegaard, Klein to Cavell, Weil to Benjamin. We will also investigate the generic opportunities and limitations of the short story, relate the form to its place in the literary marketplace, and will endeavour to position the works and their representation of their protagonists within their cultural and historical context.
Of the thirteen writers studied in the course, four were born in Ireland, one in Scotland, one in what has been called ‘the Polish Ukraine’, one in New Zealand, one in India, one in America, and four in England.
Rooster
The timetable will be available from June 1st on the Internet.
Onderwijsvorm
Two-hour seminar per week.
A la carte- en contractonderwijs
Not available as modular course or a la carte.
Leerdoelen
This course will extend and deepen the power of students’ literary critical analysis through in-depth consideration of texts. Students will explore critical debates surrounding the representation of reality in the short story. Regarding literary works, the course will also aim to extend the students’ skills in the reading of narrative and the understanding of the relationship of a text to its cultural/social context. Students will be encouraged to share analytical and critical views on the texts ascribed in class discussion, including short presentations, and will focus research skills in the writing of a final research paper. This paper will be on a relevant subject of their own choice within the parameters of the course.
Literatuur
*Sheridan Le Fanu, In A Glass Darkly (Oxford World’s Classics). *Oscar Wilde, The Complete Short Fiction (Penguin Classics). *Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / The Memoirs of Sherlock _Holmes _(published together in one volume by Penguin Classics). *Rudyard Kipling, Selected Stories (Penguin Modern Classics). *Henry James, Selected Tales (Penguin Classics). *M. R. James, Casting the Runes, and Other Ghost Stories (Oxford World’s Classics). *Joseph Conrad,Typhoon, and Other Tales (Oxford World’s Classics). *D. H. Lawrence,Selected Stories (Penguin Classics). *James Joyce, _Dubliners _(Penguin Modern Classics). *Katherine Mansfield, “_The Garden Party_” and Other Stories (Penguin Classics). *Virginia Woolf, Haunted House, and Other Stories (Harcourt). *Christopher Isherwood, Goodbye to Berlin (Vintage). *Elizabeth Bowen, The Collected Stories (Vintage).
Toetsing
The final mark is based on active class participation, a presentation based on a topic from the syllabus (20%) and a final essay (300 to 4000 words) (80%).
Final essay:
This essay can be based on any text from the course, or, subject to the tutor’s agreement, any other short story/collection of short stories not on the curriculum but that deals directly and pertinently with issues raised in the course. Your essay should explore a topic central to the issues of the course as you see them. Both the subject-matter and theme of the essay will form the subject of a negotiation between the teacher and student, the outcome of which ought to be, hopefully, mutually acceptable to both.
Informatie
English Department, P.N. Van Eyckhof 4, room 102c. Tel. 071-5272144. English@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Blackboard/webpagina
No blackboard available.
Overzicht
*Week 1: Sheridan Le Fanu, ‘Green Tea’, ‘The Familiar’ and ‘Carmilla’ from In A Glass Darkly (Oxford World’s Classics). *Week 2: Oscar Wilde, ‘The Happy Prince’, ‘The Selfish Giant’, ‘The Portrait of Mr. W. H.’, ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’, ‘Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime’, ‘The Sphinx Without A Secret’, and ‘The Canterville Ghost’, from The Complete Short Fiction (Penguin Classics). *Week 3: Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘A Scandal In Bohemia’, ‘A Case Of Identity’, ‘The Red Headed League’, ‘The Man With The Twisted Lip’, ‘The Blue Carbuncle’, ‘The Copper Beeches’, from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892) and ‘Silver Blaze’, ‘The Greek Interpreter’, ‘The Naval Treaty’, and ‘The Final Problem’, from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894) (published together in Penguin Classics). *Week 4: Rudyard Kipling, ‘Beyond the Pale’, ‘The Head of the District’, ‘The Courting of Dinah Shadd’, ‘The Man Who Was’, ‘Without Benefit of Clergy’ and ‘On Greenhow Hill’, from Selected Stories (Penguin Modern Classics). ‘At The End Of The Passage’ to be made available in handout. *Week 5: Henry James, ‘The Lesson of the Master’, ‘The Real Thing’, ‘Greville Fane’, ‘The Middle Years’, ‘The Death of the Lion’, ‘The Figure in the Carpet’, ‘The Real Right Thing’, and ‘The Jolly Corner’, from Selected Tales (Penguin Classics). *Week 6: M. R. James, ‘Canon Alberic’s Scrap Book’, ‘The Mezzotint’, ‘Number 13’, ‘Count Magnus’, ‘“Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come To You, My Lad”’, ‘Casting the Runes’, ‘An Episode of Cathedral History’, ‘The Neighbour’s Landmark’, and ‘A Warning to the Curious’, from Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories (Oxford World’s Classics). *Week 7: Joseph Conrad, Typhoon and Other Tales. *Week 8: D. H. Lawrence, ‘The White Stocking’, ‘Odour of Chrysanthemums’, ‘The Prussian Officer’, ‘England, My England’, ‘The Horse Dealer’s Daughter’, ‘The Blind Man’, ‘The Rocking-Horse Winner’, ‘The Man Who Loved Islands’, and ‘Things’, from Selected Stories (Penguin Classics). *Week 9: James Joyce, Dubliners. *Week 10: Katherine Mansfield, ‘At The Bay’, ‘The Garden Party’, ‘The Daughters of the Late Colonel’, ‘Mr and Mrs Dove’, ‘The Young Girl’, ‘Life Of Ma Parker’, and ‘Marriage à la Mode’, from The Garden Party, and Other Stories (Penguin Classics). *Week 11: Virginia Woolf, ‘A Haunted House’, ‘Monday or Tuesday’, ‘Kew Gardens’, ‘The Mark on the Wall’, ‘The New Dress’, ‘Lappin and Lapinova’, ‘The Lady in the Looking-Glass’, and ‘Moments of Being. “Slater’s Pins Have No Points”’, from Haunted House and Other Stories (Harcourt). *Week 12:Christopher Isherwood, Goodbye to Berlin. *Week 13: Elizabeth Bowen, ‘The Back Drawing Room’, ‘The Cat Jumps’, ‘Her Table Spread’, ‘The Demon Lover’, ‘Mysterious Kor’, ‘Ivy Gripped The Steps’, ‘Summer Nights’, and ‘The Happy Autumn Fields’, from Collected Stories (Vintage).