British Studies: Liter Perspec

Catalog description

This course introduces students to a range of literary perspectives in relation to the development of modern Britain. The central theme of the course is the development of a sense of national identity within the British Isles and the ways in which literature has both shaped and questioned British identity. We will consider how national identity intersects with other key themes including gender, race, class and belonging. Includes field trips to locations of literary interest and experiential learning opportunities such as visits to Shakespeares Globe Theatre in London, Romantic poet John Clares cottage and garden, and a walking tour of Bloomsbury. Moving broadly chronologically, the course will examine a variety of literary styles and genres (including plays, poetry, novels and slave narratives) to explore how different writers responded to a changing Britain and sense of what it means to be British. We will look at a selection of literary works including some classic British literature alongside texts and voices previously marginalised or left out of the canon. These include writers such as William Shakespeare, Aphra Behn, William Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth, Mary Shelley, Virginia Woolf and Benjamin Zephaniah. How have these different writers articulated what it means to be British? How were these works shaped by, and how did they respond to, the changing historical, political and cultural contexts in which they were written? Prerequisite for BRIT 330: Sophomore status or permission of instructor.