SFE10108 English: Culture Studies I (Autumn 2011)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Mandatory course in the one-year English programme. May be taken as an optional course in the 60 ECTS part of the bachelor programme in Society, Language and Culture.

Lecture Semester

Autumn Semester.

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

• Knowledge and understanding of British culture and society from a historical perspective;
• knowledge of literary epochs and themes in British literature;
• ability to analyse and evaluate a selection of British fiction;
• analytical and critical skills in their encounters with fiction and factual prose;
• an interest in British culture and literature;
• skills in written and oral presentation and argumentation in English;
• skills in searching, evaluating and using secondary literature in the university college's library and in BIBSYS and other databases.

Content

The culture studies part focuses on the topics that can supposedly best create an understanding of typical British values and norms. An introduction is given to the development of national institutions, politics, society and culture.

The literature part of the course gives an overview of literary analysis and the literary-historical development from the 16^th century until today. Four novels are read as well as two plays, two short stories  and a selection of poetry and non-fiction from different epochs. The texts are studied from the perspective of the time and society they emerged from.

Forms of teaching and learning

The course is taught as lectures and seminars. The students are expected to participate actively in discussions and group tasks. Group work outside scheduled classes is encouraged, where the students will study the course reading and cooperate on coursework.

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

The students submit two papers and receive feedback on them.  The last paper requires documentation that secondary literature is used.
All coursework must be approved before a student may take the final exam.

Examination

A 5-hour written exam
Language use as well as content count in the assessment.
Permitted aids: English-English dictionary.
The exam paper is assessed on the A-F grading scale, and both parts of the exam need to be passed.

Course evaluation

To improve the course, we need the evaluations from the students.
The course is evaluated by the students in the middle of the semester and in the end of the semester.

Literature

• Knutsen, K & M Dypedahl, Culture Studies I. Compendium, local print.
• Alexander, M, A History of English Literature
• Peck, J & M Coyle, Literary Terms and Criticism
• Griffith, K, Writing Essays about Literature
• Gibaldi, J. MLA Handbook for writers of Research Papers, 7th ed.

Novels

• Bali Rai, (Un)arranged Marriage
• Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
• Virginia Woolf: Mrs. Dalloway
• J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Plays

• William Shakespeare: Hamlet
• Tom Stoppard: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

The following prose, poetry and short stories are included in the compendium Culture Studies I:

Poetry

• William Shakespeare: 2 sonnets
• John Donne: 'Batter my heart'
• Wordsworth: 'Upon Westminster Bridge'
• John Keats: 'Ode to a Nightingale'
• Robert Browning: 'My Last Duchess'
• William Butler Yeats: 'Easter 1916'
• Wilfred Owen: 'Anthem for Doomed Youth'
• Dylan Thomas: 'Fern Hill'
• W.H. Auden: 'Musée des Beax Arts'
• Seamus Heaney: 'Punishment'
• Ted Hughes: 'Night Ride on Ariel', 'Sam'

Prose and short stories

• Jonathan Swift: 'A Modest Proposal'
• Katherine Mansfield: 'The Voyage'
• Doris Lessing: 'To Room 19'

CULTURE STUDIES

• McCormick, J, Contemporary Britain. Palgrave MacMillan (latest ed.)
• McDowall, D, An Illustrated History of Britain. Longman (latest ed.)

Additionally, all course material handed out in class and/or published on the learning platform Fronter.

All students must have an English-English dictionary such as Collins Cobuild Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, or another learner's dictionary for non-native users of English.