Prospectus

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Literature 1A: Introduction to Literary Studies in English

Course
2010-2011

Admission Requirements

None.

Description

During this course students (of English) will learn the basic skills necessary for the study of (English-language) literature. The student will learn how to analyse poetry, prose and drama by studying works of English-language literature from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. The focus will lie on the technical as well as cultural aspects of works of literature and their historical contexts. By doing a writing assignment students will learn to write a literary-critical essay, and how to independently find and use secondary sources. Attention will also be paid to the intricacies of essay presentation according to the basics of the MLA style sheet.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course students will have gained knowledge of the key genres, technical aspects and critical terms that will form the foundation for the further development of an academic understanding of the wide-ranging scope of English-language literature. The student will also be able to independently research, write and present a literary-critical essay according to the basic MLA style sheet.

Timetable

The timetable will be available from July 1 onwards on the Department website.

Mode of Instruction

One hour lecture and two hour seminar per week.

Assessment

One written assignment (20%) and one written exam (80%).

Blackboard

This course is supported by Blackboard.

Reading list

Books:

  • Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (Penguin).

  • Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (Penguin).

  • Martin Gray, A Dictionary of Literary Terms (Longman).

  • Stephen Greenblatt et al (eds.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th edition, Vol. I and II (Norton).

  • Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea (Penguin).

DVD:

  • Alfred Hitchcock (dir), North by Northwest.

Registration

Students can register through U-twist.

Register for ‘Contractonderwijs’ via: www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/onderwijs/contractonderwijs

Register for ‘À la Carte’ via: www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/onderwijs/alacarte

Contact information

English Department, P.N. van Eyckhof 4, room 103c. Phone: 071 527 2144, or mail: english@hum.leidenuniv.nl

Remarks

The reading for week 1 is available on the Blackboard site.