English 190

Book List

Barnes, Julian: England, England; James, P.D.: Children of Men; McEwan, Ian: Atonement; Rowling, J.K.: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; Smith, Zadie: NW

Description

In this course, we will investigate the literary and cultural landscape of contemporary Britain.  After several introductory sessions on the postwar period (1945-1979), we'll spend the bulk of our time working our way from the 1980s to the present.  We’ll read several novels, a clutch of poems, a short play or two, and a handful of essays; we’ll watch several films and a bit of television; and we’ll listen to some music.  We’ll sketch a capacious picture of British culture and literature, examining a variety of forms, modes, and genres.  You will be responsible for writing 2 essays: a 3-5 page close reading and a 15-20 page research paper.  

In addition to the novels listed, there will also be a course reader containing work by, among a few others, Philip Larkin, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Geoffrey Hill, Carol Ann Duffy, Daljit Nagra, Harold Pinter, A.L. Kennedy, Stuart Hall, Denise Riley, Raymond Williams, Salman Rushdie, Perry Anderson, and Tom Nairn.

Please read the paragraph about English 190 on page 2 of the instructions area of this Announcement of Classes for more details about enrolling in or wait-listing for this course.