SFE11018 English: Culture Studies I (Autumn 2018)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Mandatory course in the one-year English programme. May be taken in the optional 60 ECTS part of the Bachelor's Programme in Society, Language and Culture.

Lecture Semester

One-year English programme: 1st semester (autumn).
Bachelor's Programme in Society, Language and Culture: 1st, 3rd or 5th semester (autumn).

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

Knowledge

The student has:

• knowledge and understanding of British literature, culture and society
• knowledge of literary periods, genres and themes in British literature

Skills

The student:

• has analytical and critical skills in his or her encounters with fiction and factual prose
• is capable of studying literary works in the context of their history
• has skills in written argumentation and oral presentation in English
• is capable of using the MLA style of referencing

General competence

The student:

• is capable of independent and critical thinking in the analysis of British literature and social phenomena
• masters research techniques for searching, evaluating and using secondary literature on the internet and in the university college's library

Content

The course is a wide-ranging review of the development of British literature from the Middle Ages until the present, with a main focus on the 1900s. The compulsory part of the syllabus includes novels, plays, works of fiction and poetry. The texts are studied from the perspective of the age and society they emerged from.

Forms of teaching and learning

Lectures, seminars, talks and activities in small and large groups. The students are expected to read the course material every week and take active part in discussions and group assignments. Students are encouraged to study in groups where they can go through the literature and work together on assignments outside scheduled teaching sessions.

Workload

Approx. 280 hours.

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

• One compulsory written assignment.

Required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam.

Examination

Individual written exam (5 hours)

Permitted aids: English dictionary
Grade scale A-F.

Examiners

One external and one internal examiner or two internal examiners.

Course evaluation

Feedback from our students is vital in order for us to be able to offer the best possible courses and study programmes. The course is evaluated every semester.

The results are considered by/in teacher groups, the head of studies and the local programme committee.

Literature

The reading list is last updated 9th of May 2018.

Texts

The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors, ninth edition, vols. 1 and 2

Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey. Wordsworth Classics, 1992.

Stoppard, Tom. Arcadia. Faber & Faber, 1993.

Kramer, Jürgen. Britain and Ireland: A Concise History. Routledge, 2007.

McCormick, John. Contemporary Britain. 4th ed. Palgrave, 2018.

(We will also read Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf and Othello by William Shakespeare but those texts are included in the Norton Anthology.)

*All material handed out at lectures or posted on the learning platform is part of the syllabus. All students must have an English dictionary at their disposal, such as Collins Cobuild Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary or other dictionary for non-native speakers of English (learner's dictionary).