Admission requirements
BA degree (or equivalent) in English Language and Culture.
Thorough proficiency in written and spoken English: IELTS test level of at least 7 or TOEFL score of at least 600/250/99-100, evidenced by an appropriate test.
This requirement does not apply if you have:
o completed your education in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand or Australia, or
o an International Baccalaureate, or
o a Dutch VWO diploma
Students who have a BA in English Language and Culture from Leiden University do not have to apply for admission.
For those with a professional bachelor’s (HBO) degree: please refer to the Pre-master’s page.
Description
In this course we will read Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey (in translation), and study part of the most recent history of their Nachleben, namely, the various ways of appropriation of these poems by American, Australian, Canadian, and British poets and novelists in the twenty-first century, and the variety of approaches to Homer’s work which made this appropriation possible, such as Modernism, Postmodernism, postcolonialism and gender studies. We will also (literally) have a look at two film adaptations of Homer’s work, viz. by the Coen Brothers (O Brother, Where Art Thou) and Wolfgang Petersen (Troy).
Course objectives
Based on the assumption that participants have already acquired the basic skills for the analysis of literary (and visual) texts, this course aims to extend these skills both in terms of textual analysis (close reading) and contextual approach (cultural-historical as well as theoretical). Students will be encouraged to share analytical and theoretical views on the texts ascribed in class discussion including short presentations, and to focus research skills on a relevant subject of their own choice within the parameters of the course in the form of a final research paper.
Timetable
The timetable will be available by July 1st on the website.
Mode of instruction
2-hour seminar per week
Assessment method
Evaluation of this course will be on the basis of participation in class discussion + an oral presentation (30%) and of a written paper of ca. 5,000 words (70%)
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used to provide students with additional information/reading material
Reading list
-Homer, The Iliad, trl. Robert Fagles, 1990
-Homer, The Odyssey, trl. Robert Fagles, 1996
-Christopher Logue, War Music, London: Faber, 2001 (the Faber edition which contains the trilogy War Music, The Husbands, and Kings)
-Elizabeth Cook, Achilles, London: Methuen, 2001
-David Malouf, )_Ransom_, London: Chatto & Windus, 2009
-Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles, London etc.: Bloomsbury, 2011
-Alice Oswald, Memorial, London: Faber and Faber, 2011
-Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad, Edinburgh: Canongate, 2005
-Simon Armitage, The Odyssey, London: Faber, 2006
-Zachary Mason, The Lost Books of the Odyssey, London: Jonathan Cape, 2010
-film: Coen Brothers, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, 2000
-film: Wolfgang Petersen, Troy, 2007
Registration
Students should register through uSis. Exchange students cannot register through uSis, but must see the director of studies and register with her. If you have any questions, please contact the departmental office, tel. 071 5272144 or mail: english@hum.leidenuniv.nl.
Exchange and Study Abroad students, please see the Study in Leiden website for information on how to apply
Contact information
Departmental Office English Language and Culture, P.N. van Eyckhof 4, room 102C. Tel. 071 5272144; or mail english@hum.leidenuniv.nl.
Studentcounsellor Bachelor: Ms T.D. Obbens, P.N. van Eyckhof 4, room 103B.
Coordinator of Studies Master: Ms T.D. Obbens, P.N. van Eyckhof 4, room 103B.