Program Overview

Course Description

The city of London has been a center for art and commerce for centuries. It has also been a city of immigrants, especially with the arrival in 1948 of the Empire Windrush. Traveling from the far reaches of a fading Empire, this ship's passengers hoped for a better life in the mother country but arrived in a city whose doors were often closed to people of color, a city ravaged by the bombs of World War II. What kind of London emerged from the rubble of war? What kinds of lives did these new immigrants build? How did existing Londoners respond? What is the legacy of this immigration in contemporary British culture? During the next few months, we will explore answers to these questions as we study the culture of post-WWII Britain through its literature.

Course Objectives

• To become familiar with a particular period of British literary and cultural history
• To develop and apply critical skills for reading, thinking, and writing about several literary genres
• To use relevant cultural and historical information when interpreting literary texts
• To develop skills related to various technologies for research in and discussion of English literature

Class Participation and Attendance

Class participation is required. Our class will be based on discussion, so class participation is not only expected but it also will count for 20% of your final grade. To participate, you must complete the reading assigned for each class session, think carefully about what you have read, and come to class ready to share your ideas. Your attendance is therefore important. You will not be penalized for your first absence; thereafter, further absences will jeopardize your final course grade. Excessive absences (three or more -- that is, nine classroom hours) may result in failure of the course.

Required Texts

• Andrea Levy, Small Island (2003)
• Colin MacInnes, Absolute Beginners (1958)
• A.S. Byatt, Babel Tower (1996)
• Caryl Churchill, Cloud 9 (1978)
• Jeanette Winterson, Sexing the Cherry (1989)
• Zadie Smith, White Teeth (2000)
• Monica Ali, Brick Lane (2003)
• Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2003)
• J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
• Peter Ackroyd, London: A Biography (2000)
• Streetwise London Map (2007)
• Class Pack (available at A&S Copy Center in Eisenhower Hall)

Papers and Response Papers

All students will write one shorter paper (4-5 pages in length); undergraduates will also write a longer paper (7-8 pages in length), while graduate students will also write a longer paper with secondary sources (8-10 pages in length), an abstract of that paper, and an essay review of four articles or a book-length study about one of our authors or about London. You will have a choice of two topics for Paper #1, and you will have a choice of text for Paper #2. Both papers should follow the general rules of composition and be typed or word-processed with standard double-spacing, 1-inch margins, and either 10- or 12-point typeface.

Grading

• Undergraduate Students:
  • The two papers will count for 40% of your final grade (15% and 25% respectively)
  • The response papers will count for 20% of your final grade
  • Class participation (20%) and a final exam (20%) complete the requirements
• Graduate Students:
  • The shorter paper will count for 10%
  • The essay review will count for 10%
  • The longer paper and its abstract will count for 25% of your final grade
  • The response papers will count for 20% of your final grade
  • Class participation (20%) and a final exam (15%) complete the requirements

Schedule of Classes

All assigned reading should be completed by the date listed.

• August 28: Introduction to London
• September 4: Levy, Small Island (2003) (1-278)
• September 11: Levy, Small Island (281-438)
• September 18: MacInnes, Absolute Beginners (1958)
• September 25: Byatt, Babel Tower (1996) (3-369)
• October 2: Byatt, Babel Tower (370-622)
• October 9: Churchill, Cloud 9 (1978)
• October 16: No Class
• October 23: Winterson, Sexing the Cherry (1989)
• October 30: Smith, White Teeth (2000) (1-256)
• November 6: Smith, White Teeth (257-448)
• November 13: No Class -- View Bend it Like Beckham and post message board response
• November 20: Ali, Brick Lane
• November 27: No Class -- Thanksgiving Break
• December 4: Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2000)
• December 11: Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• December 18: Final Exam (IDs & essay)