2012-2013

Antonio Ballesteros González (coordinador), Ángeles de la Concha Muñoz GRADO EN ESTUDIOS INGLESES

GRADO GUÍA DE ESTUDIO DE LA ASIGNATURA LITERATURA INGLESA IV: EL GIRO A LA POSMODERNIDAD 2ª PARTE | PLAN DE TRABAJO Y ORIENTACIONES PARA SU DESARROLLO

1.- WORK PLAN Literatura Inglesa IV: El Giro a la Posmodernidad is divided into FIVE STUDY UNITS (see TABLE 1 below), each one lasting between two and three weeks. In general terms, the Units are structured taking into account the most prevalent literary genres. Successful completion of Literatura Inglesa IV will give you 5 ECTS, or the equivalent of 125 study hours spread over the whole academic year. This subject has been designed to provide students with a significant overview of English Literature of the last decades of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, offering an ample selection of theoretical and literary readings. Each Unit includes mandatory reading texts by critical and literary authors, some of them included in the Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. II, which you have already used in other literary subjects of the Grado de Estudios Ingleses, together with five separate novels, two plays, as well as selected poems, short stories and essays that will be found in the curso virtual. The compulsory set material for the course, which can also be looked up in the curso virtual, is the online textbook Literatura Inglesa IV: El Giro a la Posmodernidad, elaborated by Drs. Ángeles de la Concha, Gretchen Dobrott and Antonio Ballesteros. All texts are explored through related exercises and/or activities. These activities can be used in tutorials, group discussions (face-to-face or online) or for the purposes of self-assessment (=autoevaluación). When convenient, the curso virtual will provide you with the answers. Each Unit will be organized as follows: CRITICAL AUTHORS AND TEXTS

o Chapters from the online textbook + critical texts (when necessary) + self-assessment questions

LITERARY TEXTS AND ANALYSIS o Reading and analysis of Literary texts (fiction, drama, poetry) + self-assessment

questions

Suggestions for self-assessment questions and activities

2.- STUDY GUIDELINES AND TIME MANAGEMENT TABLES 1 & 2 below give you a breakdown of activities and learning outcomes common to Units 1-5. A suggested plan for redistributing and managing your time is also included. Study hours devoted to the various activities will necessarily vary depending on the length and difficulty of the reading material, although you should aim to keep to the number of hours indicated for each entire unit.

TABLE 1

UNITS LEARNING OUTCOMES COMMON TO UNITS 1-5

DURATION OF STUDY

1 THE POSTMODERN TURN: INTRODUCTION AND BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE POSTULATES OF POSTMODERNISM

Familiarity with the contextualization of postmodern thought within the wider field of critical theory and literary studies.

Familiarity with extracts from postmodern critical authors and their work.

Ability to read/analyze critical texts and answer questions on them in grammatically correct English.

Ability to read/analyze literary texts from a postmodern critical perspective.

Development of critical perspective and knowledge of non-canonical literary traditions and texts.

Understanding of the influence of historical processes and cultural power relations on the literary production of Great Britain and its former colonies.

Familiarity and ability to use fluently the critical terms related to postmodernism for literary analysis.

Understanding and knowledge of the main tenets of postmodern theory.

Identification and analysis of the discourses on gender, ethnicity, religion, etc., implicit in the texts studied in the course.

Knowledge of the political, socio-economic and cultural factors involved in the evolution of Great Britain as a nation in recent years.

Ability to develop an academic literary essay on a specific topic from a critical perspective.

Ability to use the resources available at the curso virtual and at the university library to pursue research on a literary topic related to the contents of the subject.

1 week

2 THE NOVEL AS EXPLORATION OF THE “GREAT WHIRLWIND OF CHANGE”

4 weeks

3 FROM CANONICAL ENGLISH TO MULTICULTURAL BRITISH: REWORKING THE CANON

Understanding and knowledge of the cultural diversity and literary traditions of countries previously subordinated to the British Empire.

Understanding and knowledge of the processes and concepts of diaspora, hybrididy and trans-culturality for individuals and within postcolonial studies.

Knowledge of the interconnection between postcolonialism and feminism, identifying and analyzing authors and texts that have contributed to postcolonial feminism.

Knowledge of a world-wide variety of literatures written in English.

2 weeks

4 DRAMA IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES: ANGER AND COUNTER CULTURE

2 weeks

5 POETRY AFTER WORLD WAR TWO

2 weeks

TABLE 2

SECTIONS COMMON TO UNITS 1-5

ACTIVITIES IN EACH SECTION

APPROX. STUDY HOURS NEEDED PER UNIT

A) Reading of introductory and critical texts

• Reading and understanding chapters or extracts by postmodern critics.

2-4 hours

B) Self-assessment exercises

• Analytical and comprehension exercises based on critical texts.

1-2 hours

C) Reading of literary texts

• Reading, understanding and analysis of literary works.

4-10 hours, depending on the extension of the literary works assigned.

D) Self-assessment exercises

• Literary analysis and textual commentary.

2-4 hours

Max. total: ranging from 20 to 30 hours per Unit

3.-STUDY PLAN AND COURSE PROGRAMME

3.1.-STUDY PLAN

Literatura Inglesa IV: El Giro a la Posmodernidad will include a significant amount of critical, theoretical and literary texts in English that all students must read carefully to achieve the required knowledge on the subject. Therefore, you are strongly advised to purchase or loan the compulsory reading for the course. Certain material, such as the online textbook, poems or extracts, will be available in the curso virtual, as well as detailed study guidelines and self-assessment exercises in the Guía de Estudios designed for each specific Unit. This is why we strongly recommend the active participation of students in such virtual space, since this will be the basic tool of communication between teachers and students in order to: enquire and answer questions in relation to content, propose and guide debates among students and teachers, post important news about the subject and the course, provide compulsory and complementary reading material, or suggest links to external sources of information for research. We provide here, however, study guidelines and suggestions to pursue a satisfactory autonomous learning on the subject, that will be further strengthened through self-assessment activities included in the Guía de Estudios of every Unit in the curso virtual. • In relation to CRITICAL AND THEORETICAL TEXTS :

The student will be required to:

read and understand the text or extract

analyze the main ideas in the text

provide definitions or explanations of certain key terms

answer questions about the text

provide a summary of the text

• In relation to LITERARY TEXTS (novels, poems and plays suggested for each Unit):

The student will be required to:

read the texts through an active and dynamic approach, making connections with other literary and theoretical readings, taking notes, etc., to reach a complete understanding of the main ideas found in the texts.

write a brief descriptive summary of the plot and a brief analysis of the main critical ideas.

look up and provide definitions for key words.

analyze stylistic elements such as type of language, mood, narrative point of view (in fiction), figurative language, relation between form and content, etc.

develop a literary essay from a critical perspective on a specific subject about the text using the theoretical basis acquired in the reading of critical texts and authors in the course.

• WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR YOUR STUDY:

All the compulsory texts (theoretical and literary).

The Guía de Estudios (parts I and II) that will be found in the curso virtual, as well as the complementary Guías de Estudios for each separate Unit.

A good monolingual English dictionary.

Access to the Internet and the curso virtual.

A commitment to using your own words when completing the self-assessment activities and exams, avoiding plagiarism.

A minimum of an hour and a half of study daily when you know you won’t be interrupted.

3.2.-COURSE PROGRAMME

Here is a breakdown of the course programme. Detailed study guidelines, self-assessment activities and complementary material will be provided in the curso virtual. UNIT 1: THE POSTMODERN TURN: INTRODUCTION AND BRIEF ACCOUNT OF

THE POSTULATES OF POSTMODERNISM

1. INTRODUCTORY AND CRITICAL TEXTS:

Chapter 1 in the online textbook, containing: • A succinct outline of the most relevant concepts and tenets of postmodernism.

• Allusions to the work of contemporary authors (Fredric Jameson, Jean François

Lyotard, Linda Hutcheon…) that have contributed to lay the foundations of postmodern thought.

• On the other hand, read attentively the following articles by Linda Hutcheon: “The

Postmodern Problematizing of History.” English Studies in Canada 14.4 (1988): 365-

382. [Link to article], “The Post Always Rings Twice: The Postmodern and the Postcolonial.” Material History Review 41 (1995): 4-23. [Link to article], “Incredulity toward Metanarrative: Negotiating Postmodernism and Feminisms.” Collaboration in the Feminine: Writings on Women and Culture from Tessera. Ed. Barbara Godard. Toronto: Second Story, 1994. 186-192. [Link to article]

• Self-assessment activities (it is recommended that students develop the self-study activities suggested in the Study Plan above, plus the activities provided in the online textbook and the curso virtual in relation to this Unit).

Remember: you should spend approximately 1 week on this Unit and about 9 to 10 hours of study per week. If you finish your reading assignment, we recommend to start reading the novel Possession included in next unit, since it has a considerable length.

UNIT 2: THE NOVEL AS EXPLORATION OF THE GREAT “WHIRLWIND OF

CHANGE”

1. INTRODUCTORY AND CRITICAL TEXTS:

• Chapter 2 in the online textbook. This chapter deals with fictional works by Doris Lessing, Jean Rhys, John Fowles, Julian Barnes, Antonia S. Byatt, Martin Amis and Ian McEwan.

• Critical texts on the writers aforementioned and their works (provided in the curso

virtual). • Self-assessment activities (it is recommended that students develop the self-study

activities suggested in the Study Plan above, plus the activities provided in the curso virtual in relation to this Unit).

2. LITERARY TEXTS:

• Reading and analysis of Doris Lessing’s short story “To Room Nineteen” (in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. II), and the novels Possession, by Antonia S. Byatt (London: Chatto & Windus, 1990; frequently reprinted), and Time’s Arrow, by Martin Amis (London: Penguin, 1991; frequently reprinted).

• Self-assessment activities suggested in Study Plan and provided in the online

textbook and the curso virtual. Remember: you should spend approximately a bit more than 4 weeks on this Unit and about 9 to 10 hours of study per week. Intensive reading is needed to complete the assignment of the postmodern fictional works.

UNIT 3: FROM CANONICAL ENGLISH TO MULTICULTURAL BRITISH:

REWORKING THE CANON

1. INTRODUCTORY AND CRITICAL TEXTS:

• Relates to Chapter 3 in the online textbook, and deals with postcolonial authors

whose works are linked to contemporary Britain. Extracts of postcolonial critics will be provided both in the textbook and the curso virtual.

• Self-assessment activities (it is recommended that students develop the self-study activities suggested in the Study Plan above, plus the activities provided in the curso virtual in relation to this Unit).

2. LITERARY TEXTS:

• Reading and analysis of Elik Shafak’s Honour. London: Viking, 2012. • Self-assessment activities suggested in Study Plan and provided in the online

textbook and the curso virtual. Remember: you should spend approximately 2 weeks on this Unit, and about 9 to 10 hours of study per week. UNIT 4: DRAMA IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES: ANGER AND COUNTER

CULTURE

1. INTRODUCTORY AND CRITICAL TEXTS:

• Chapter 4 in the online textbook, dealing with the development of drama in Britain from the sixties to the first decade of the twenty-first century. Special epigraphs will be devoted to John Osborne, David Hare, Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill, and the so-called ‘in-yer-face’ playwrights, paying special attention to Bola Agbaje.

• Self-assessment activities (it is recommended that students develop the self-study activities suggested in the Study Plan above, plus the activities provided in the curso virtual in relation to this Unit).

2. LITERARY TEXTS:

• Reading and analysis of Harold Pinter’s play The Dumb Waiter, in The Norton

Anthology of English Literature, vol. II, and Bola Agbaje’s Gone Too Far! (in The Methuen Drama Book of Twenty-First Century British Plays. Edited and with an introduction by Aleks Sierz. London: Methuen, 2010).

• Self-assessment activities suggested in Study Plan and provided in the online

textbook and the curso virtual. Remember: you should spend approximately 2 weeks on this Unit and about 9 to 10 hours of study per week.

UNIT 5: POETRY AFTER WORLD WAR II

1. INTRODUCTORY AND CRITICAL TEXTS:

• Chapter 5 in the online textbook. This last Unit in the course tackles the role played by the ‘New Poetry’ in Britain, paying attention to the influence of the American confessional poets (focusing on Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath), to Tony Harrison, to Benjamin Zephaniah, Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze and multicultural poetry, and to postcolonial poets like Grace Nichols, John Agard, Faustin Charles, Fred D’Aguiar, among others.

• Self-assessment activities (it is recommended that students develop the self-study

activities suggested in the Study Plan above, plus the activities provided in the online textbook and the curso virtual in relation to this Unit).

2. LITERARY TEXTS:

• Reading and analysis of poems by the poets mentioned above provided in the

textbook and the curso virtual. • Self-assessment activities suggested in Study Plan and provided in the textbook and

the curso virtual. Remember: you should spend approximately 2 weeks on this Unit and about 9 to 10 hours of study per week.

3.3.-EVALUATION

You will be assessed in various ways by your course supervisors throughout the course. This continuous assessment will be based on:

- Participation in tutorials.

- Participation in online discussions and activities.

- Pruebas de Evaluación Continua (one) which will constitute the 20% of your final grade. The PEC is voluntary and the deadline to hand it in will be around mid term. The format will follow that of the final exam and will include the material studied up to then.

- A final evaluation in the form of an exam or prueba presencial, which will constitute 80% of your final grade, if you did the PEC, and the 100% of your grade if you did not. The PEC will be taken into account only if you reach a minimum of 5 in the final exam.

You will also be able to assess yourself through:

- Self-assessment exercises; answers will be provided in the curso virtual when necessary.

- Written feedback to the PECs and the final exam.

4.-GLOSSARY • A glossary of terms related to the course contents will be provided in the curso virtual.