Introduccin a la literatura inglesa

COURSE SYLLABUS FOR THE SUBJECT

1. GENERAL INFORMATION
Module:
Code
Type:
Degree:
Course / Semester:
Department:

Introduction to English Literature

Compulsory
English Studies
1st / 2nd
Departament de Filologia Anglesa i Alemanya

Lecturers:

Dra. Claudia Alonso

Claudia.Alonso@uv.es

Class Schedule:

Grupo AC/AZ: Wed. and Fri. 15:00-17:00

Office hours: Thurs. 10:00-13:00

Introduction to the Subject:

The course attempts to guide students towards an understanding of the history and
traditions of English Literature, and to provide them with the necessary reading skills
for this enterprise.
This exploration is aimed at helping students to locate individual works and authors in
their historical and cultural context; to gain knowledge of the basic techniques and
conventions of playwriting, the writing of poems, and the writing of prose and fiction;
and to write their reading and critical experiences into academic essays.
Requirements
B1 English level

COMPETNCIES

COMPETENCES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The competences developed in this subject are the following:
- Poseer y comprender conocimientos en el rea de estudios lingsticos, literarios y culturales
a un nivel que, si bien se apoya en libros de texto avanzados, incluye tambin algunos aspectos
que implican conocimientos procedentes de la vanguardia del campo de estudio.
- Saber reunir e interpretar datos relevantes para emitir juicios que incluyan una reflexin
sobre temas de ndole cientfica, social o tica, desde el respeto y la promocin de los
Derechos Humanos.
- Saber localizar, manejar y sintetizar informacin bibliogrfica e informacin contenida en
bases de datos, en otros instrumentos informticos y en Internet.
- Alcanzar una competencia comunicativa y social en lengua inglesa (comprensin y expresin
oral y escrita, interaccin comunicativa y mediacin, incluida la correccin gramatical y
estilstica) cercana al nivel C2 segn el Marco de referencia comn europeo para las lenguas.

- Saber identificar los movimientos, etapas, gneros, autores y obras de las literaturas en
lengua inglesa y conocer sus convenciones estticas, modos de produccin y recepcin y su
lugar dentro de la literatura occidental y universal.
- Conocer las tcnicas y mtodos de anlisis de textos literarios anglfonos y saber aplicarlos
en variedad de textos.
- Desarrollar la capacidad crtica para caracterizar, explicar, interpretar y valorar textos
literarios en ingls y poder relacionarlos con sus respectivos contextos literarios e histricos,
as como con otros textos y temas en perspectiva comparada.
- Desarrollar un compromiso tico centrndose en aspectos tales como la igualdad de gneros,
la igualdad de oportunidades, los valores de la cultura de paz y los valores democrticos, y los
problemas medioambientales y de sostenibilidad, as como el conocimiento y la apreciacin de
la diversidad lingstica y la multiculturalidad.
Having successfully completed the course, students will be able to locate individual works and
authors in their historical and cultural context, explain how some titles and authors are
included or excluded from literary canons, describe the conventions and techniques used in
specific texts as related to genres, periods and movements in English literature, identify
passages from literary works in English that they have read, describe the conflict or plot,
structure, character, setting, style, and mood or atmosphere of a literary work they have read,
discern the meaning and theme(s) of literary works or excerpts in English, explain the way the
meaning and effect of a literary text are conveyed through its linguistic choices, explain how a
poems prosody contributes to its communicative purpose, and explain how the use of types of
narrators and of focalization condition the unfolding of narrative.

CONTENTS :
1. Contexts and definitions.
Works and authors in their historical, cultural and literary contexts. The problem of periods
and movements in the history of English literature and their canon.
2. Poems and poets.
A readers guide to English Poetry, with a little practical anthology.
3. Playwriting, playreading, playgoing.
The conventions and the tradition of theatre and drama in English Literature. From
Shakespeare to the present. There will be two compulsory readings of full texts:
- Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
- The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh
4. The art of telling stories.
Novels, short stories and other uses of prose in English Fiction. Set readings will include a
contemporary and a classical title. There will be one compulsory reading of a full text:
- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

DE TREBALL

WORKLOAD:
Activities
Lectures, seminars, classroom presentations and other activities
Preparation of assignments and projects, etc.

# hours
60
36

Class preparation and readings

Preparation for examinations
Sitting examinations
Attendance at tutorials
Workload
Total ECTS credits

45
5
2
2
150
6

METHODOLOGY:
Theory-based classes: Lectures and case studies (developing competences 1, 14, 15, 26 and
27).
Lectures will focus on clarification and discussion of key concepts and techniques for students
rather than on exposition of matter they can find in the dossiers and bibliography.
Consequently, students are expected to work on assigned tasks (reading sections from course
dossiers, answering questions set in advance) before attending class.
Practical classes: Problem solving and case studies (developing competences 3, 4, 7, 14, 15, 26
and 27). Students will focus on key concepts and techniques extracted from the set readings.
Other activities: Tutorials for individual orientation and advice/feedback on readings.

COMPULSORY READINGS:
- Theory: readings will be provided by the teacher (either through
Reprografa on the 2nd floor or through Aula Virtual)
- Poetry: readings will be provided by the teacher (either through
Reprografa on the 2nd floor or through Aula Virtual)
- Drama: excerpts from plays will be provided by the teacher (either
through Reprografa on the 2nd floor or through Aula Virtual).
The Lieutenant of Inishmore will be available in Reprografa
students are to purchase Waiting for Godot on their own
- Prose: excerpts from novels/short stories will be provided by the
teacher (either through Reprografa on the 2nd floor or through
Aula Virtual).
The Turn of the Screw will be available in Reprografa

WEEKLY PLANNING:
WEEK 1:
4 Feb.

Introduction to the course

6 Feb.

UNIT 1: CONTEXTS AND DEFINITIONS. Literary historiography

and the debate surrounding canon formation

WEEK 2:
11 Feb.

13 Feb.

Conceptualizing genres. Periodization of English literature.

Review of rhetorical devices.
UNIT 2: POEMS AND POETS. Old English poetry: excerpts from
Beowulf

WEEK 3:
18 Feb.

Renaissance poetry: selection of Shakespearian sonnets

20 Feb.

Romantic poetry: reading of John Keatss Ode on a Grecian Urn

WEEK 4:
25 Feb.

Modernism: excerpts from TS Eliots The Waste Land

27 Feb.

Postmodernism: excerpts from Philip Larkins poetry

WEEK 5:
4 March

UNIT 3: PLAYWRITING, PLAY READING, PLAY-GOING. From

morality plays to Elizabethan theater: excerpts from
Shakespeares Richard III

6 March

Victorian and Edwardian theater: excerpts from George Bernard

Shaws The Doctors Dilemma

WEEK 6:
11 March

Theater of the absurd: Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot

13 March

Angry Young Men: excerpts from John Osbornes Look Back in

Anger

WEEK 7:
25 March

27 March

In-yer-face theater: Martin McDonaghs The Lieutenant of

Inishmore
No class

WEEK 8:
UNIT 4: THE ART OF TELLING STORIES. Theory of narrative I:

1 April

Plot, space and character

WEEK 9:
15 April

Theory of narrative II: Narratology

17 April

The 18th-century novel: Defoe, Swift and Richardson

WEEK 10:

The English gothic tradition in the Romantic and the Victorian

eras

22 April
24 April

The Victorian novel and colonialism: excerpts from HG Wells

The Island of Dr Moreau and Joseph Conrads Heart of
Darkness

WEEK 11:
29 April

No class

WEEK 12:
6 May
8 May

Turn of the Century Anxieties: The Turn of the Screw by Henry

James
Modernist prose: excerpts from Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway

WEEK 13:
13 May

15 May

The Dystopian tradition: excerpts from George Orwells

Nineteen Eighty-Four and Aldous Huxleys Brave New World
Experimental prose: excerpts from Anthony Burguesss A
Clockwork Orange

WEEK 14:
20 May

Contemporary novel: Kazuo Ishiguros The Remains of the Day

22 May

Course review

EXMENES:

Primera convocatoria: 10/06/2015

Segunda convocatoria: 09/07/2015

ASSESSMENT:
Standard Assessment: M DE TREBALL
Final Written test on the theoretical aspects of the course, to evaluate acquisition of
concepts and ability to apply them in the texts proposed. 50%
Final Reading Test on the readings assigned during the course to evaluate critical
comprehension. 40%
In-class Participation. Participation can only be assessed when a student is actively and
frequently involved in class lectures and discussions, which includes: asking and answering
questions, stirring debate, contributing alternative ideas and suggestions, helping to build
collective knowledge. Passive attendance to class does not count as participation. 10%

Modalidad no presencial:
Students who are unable to come to class on a regular basis will take a longer, final written
test on the theoretical aspects of the course (50%), and a longer, final reading test (50%).
VERY IMPORTANT: Plagiarism is a serious academic offence and will be penalized.
A final average mark will only be given if all assessment components (theory test, reading test)
are marked above 4.5 (in a scale from 0.1 to 10, where the top mark is 10 and a pass is 5) and if
the average of all combined is at least 5. The final mark will take very much into account the
active involvement of students in the course, both in class and in tutorials, and their creativity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:AVALUACI
REFERNCIES

General references
- Peck, John, and Martin Coyle How to Study a Poet London: Palgrave, 1988.
- Peck, John, and Martin Coyle How to Study a Shakespeare Play 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave,
1995.
- Blake, N. F. An Introduction to the Language of Literature. Houndmills and London:
Macmillan, 1990.
- Peck, John How to Study a Novel Basingstoke: Palgrave, 1995.
- Greenblatt, Stephen (Gen. Ed.) The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W. W.
Norton,
2006.
General Reference:
- Brook, Peter The Empty Space London: Penguin, 1990 (1968).
Burgess, Anthony English Literature: A Survey for Students Harlow and London: Longman,
1974.
Carter, R. & McRae, J. The Routledge History of English Literature: Britain and Ireland London:
Routledge, 1997.
Drabble, Margaret (Ed.) The Oxford Companion to English Literature Oxford Univ. Press, 1990.
Forster, E. M. Aspects of the Novel London: Edward Arnold, 1969 (1927).

Fraser, G. S. Metre, Rhyme and Free Verse London: Routledge, 1991 (1970).
Harmon, William and C. Hugh Holman A Handbook to Literature Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice
Hall, 2000.
Hartnoll, Phyllis and Peter Found (Eds.) The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre Oxford
Univ.
Press, 2003.
Kettle, Arnold An Introduction to the English Novel 2 vols. London: Hutchinson, 1985.
Schmidt, Michael Lives of the Poets London: Phoenix, 1999.
Wales, Katie A Dictionary of Stylistics London: Longman, 1991.
Additional bibliography and electronic resources will be indicated during the course.