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
This course intends to offer a detailed study and analytical reading of three major works (Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses) by James Joyce (1882-1941), one of the most innovative and influential writers in English of the twentieth century. We will also look at the writers who influenced him, and place his work in a historical and theoretical context. Questions to be addressed among others will be: what are the major contributions of Joyce to the development of Modernism? How ‘European’ is Joyce? How much does Ulysses rely on Homer’s Odyssey?
Course objectives
Based on the assumption that participants have already acquired the basic skills for the analysis of literary 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
Monday 19.00-21.00
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
-James Joyce, Dubliners, ed. Terence Brown (Penguin)
-James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, ed. Seamus Deane (Penguin)
-James Joyce, Ulysses: Annotated Student’s Edition, with an introduction and notes by Declan Kiberd (Penguin)
-Derek Attridge, ed., The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce (2nd edn)
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.
Coordinator of Studies: Ms T.D. Obbens, P.N. van Eyckhof 4, room 103C.