Face-to-face , second term, 30 hours of theory.

English

This course aims to provide students with the basic terminology and methodology used in literary analysis. Students will also be introduced to the main theories of literary criticism. The course is based on the analysis (of excerpts) of key works of English literature.
In order to best prepare students for the writing of their final dissertation in English literature, the students will be familiarised with research in databases, the use of reference books, the norms to respect when drafting a scholarly text (quotations, footnotes, bibliography), and ethics with regard to research (concept of intellectual property, types of plagiarism).
Upon completion of the course, students should be capable of analysing and interpreting a literary text based on a scientific approach.

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Narrative Voices in the Novel: From Tradition to Experimentation

This course focuses on the novel and has the notion of voices (narrative instance) as its main theme, from its most traditional to its most experimental forms. Our literary journey will begin with the detailed analysis of excerpts of novels belonging to the canon that highlight the main characteristics of the various traditional types of narrative voices (Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe; Pamela, by Samuel Richardson; Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen; Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens; etc).

Following this, we will concentrate on various works, mainly modern and postmodern, which are characterised by their subversive play around the narrative voice (Mrs Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf, and its rewritten version, The Hours, by Michael Cunningham; The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison; The Book of Mrs Noah by Michèle Roberts; The Longest Memory by Fred D'Aguiar; Only Human by Jenny Diski, for example). In light of this, we will cover, among other topics, the concepts of polyphony, voice blurring, collective voices and spectral voices.

Class sessions combining lectures illustrated by means of PowerPoint presentations and other audio-visual material; discussions and interaction with the students.

Drafting of 3 in-class paragraphs (15% of the final grade)
Written examination (85% of the final grade)

Compilation of (excerpts of) the texts covered during the course.
Recommended editions (for the novels studied in detail).

Handouts
Compilation of (excerpts of) the texts covered during the course
Recommended editions (for the novels studied in detail)
Personal class notes taken by the students