English 415: Advanced Studies in Twentieth Century Literature: The Literature of Small Islands
Responding to the proposition that literature written about islands or by authors who have or who do live on islands betrays a paradigm of identifiable literary characteristics, this course explores, with a historical and comparative methodology, the themes, structures, and patterns that might constitute such a poetics. The course begins with some early and archetypal examples of the paradigm (selections from The Odyssey, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe), and then follows the repetitions, developments, and permutations as they appear in a
number of Canadian — especially Atlantic Canadian — and international works.
Among some of the predictable themes are the following: contraction and restriction of human experience; castaway survival experiences; the relationship between a constricted space and an infinite one; islands as a fantasy projection; outsiders’ and insiders’ views of island experience; paradise and prisons; economic and socio-political marginalization; gender and the experience of island-ness; and islands and autobiography.
Instructor: Brent MacLaine
September 2011: Wednesday 6:00 - 9.00 p.m.
English 435: Advanced Studies in Nineteenth Century British Literature "Demystifying Dickens: or, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Three-decker Novels"
Dickens’ critical reputation is tied inextricably to attitudes about the culture and again which he
lived. As go the Victorians, so Dickens, that epitome of “High Victorian” values. In this course, we will undertake a close reading of six novels, roughly following the arc of Dickens’ career. I’m interested in why Dickens has become the quintessential “Victorian” novelist; how his popularity and commercial dominance affected publishing practices; how he combined deep and authentic concern for the disadvantaged with political and sexual conservatism; how he helped direct new social ideologies; and how he negotiated the complexities of class as an upwardly mobile middle-class artist. As well, we’ll look at his relations with women, his critical reception and legacy, and the development of his style from the early comic sentimentality to the complexity of his late works. It’s an ambitious programme, don’t propose to settle these questions. But as we work through the novels – one quite short, three of modest length, and two long – and delve into the social, historical, and literary context in which they were written, we’ll have to ask them.
Instructor: Anne Furlong
September 20111: Tuesday & Thursday 11:30 - 12:45 p.m.
English 491: Seminar - "Emily Dickinson: Embodying Life Through Writing"
To many readers, the American poet, Emily Dickinson, is a brilliant enigma. To others, she is a hero. Even in her own time, she had become known as “the Myth,” and her literary mentor privately referred to her as “half-cracked.” Despite their conflicting representations, these labels all suggest the many attempts of readers and scholars for more than a century to identify, explain, and make sense, from a wide variety of perspectives, of the extraordinary but often uncomfortable power embodied in Dickinson’s poetry and the life she lived. This senior seminar will explore Dickinson as both woman and poet, embodying the writing life in mid-nineteenth-century New England. It will address critical intersections among her writing, personal life, and cultural environment, focusing primarily on her poems and poetics while also examining her letters; major biographical perspectives; her manuscript and publication history; the historical and literary matrix in which she wrote; reception and influence; and recent directions in Dickinson scholarship.
The course assumes introductory familiarity with nineteenth- and/or twentieth-century American literature and emphasizes reading, discussion, informal and formal writing opportunities, and student-directed learning. Maximum enrollment is limited to 15.
Instructor: Wendy Shilton
September 2011: Monday 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
English 455: Advanced Studies in Early Modern Literature
Is there any other literary work in English that has had such a life beyond itself? Shakespeare’s Hamlet, like Don Quixote, Ebeneezer Scrooge, Falstaff, or the Wife of Bath, has transcended the story we find him in. We will look at the play itself, at its sources and genesis, and at its performance history, adaptations, and influence over the 400 years since its first performance. Students are expected to watch at least 4 film versions of the play outside of class time.
Instructor: Shannon Murray
January 2012: Wednesday 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
English 463: Advanced Studies in American Literature - The Raw and the Cooked: Beats and Patricians in American Poetry and Prose
This course will examine the phenomenon of the Beat writers (Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso) and contrast their work with that of their more traditional and formalist American contemporaries. We will examine the social conditions of the1950's and early ‘60's that led to the rise of the Beats, and study the academic and critical context of those decades. We will also look at the legacy of both Beats and academic writers.
Instructor: Geoffrey Lindsay
January 2012 - Wednesday 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
