LET-ETCENB107
British Literature and Culture of the 19th and 20th Century
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleLET-ETCENB107
Credits (ECTS)5
CategoryB1 (First year bachelor)
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Arts; English Language and Culture;
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator
dr. R.H. van den Beuken
Other course modules lecturer
Examiner
dr. R.H. van den Beuken
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. R.H. van den Beuken
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
dr. R.H. van den Beuken
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. G. Bruna, PhD
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2022
Period
PER 3-PER 4  (30/01/2023 to 03/09/2023)
Starting block
PER 3
Course mode
full-time
RemarksAccessible to exchange students. Exam is on campus. and not online!
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesYes
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
After completing this course:
• You will be able to identify the main developments in 19th and 20th-century British literature in relation to their historical and cultural contexts;
• You will be able to discuss key literary genres and texts of this period, ranging from Romantic poetry to postmodernist fiction;
• You will be able to do individual research on literary texts from this period and present your findings in an academic essay.
Content
In this course we will study a selection of texts from 19th and 20th-century British literature. Beginning with the Romantic poetry of the early years of the 19th century, and moving through the age of realist fiction to the rise of socialism and the aesthetic movement at the period’s close, we will consider these works in relation to the great social and cultural changes that took place alongside them. Topics for discussion will include: the role of gender and class in shaping society, responses to nature and landscape in an industrial age, trends in Victorian art such as Pre-Raphaelitism and aestheticism, the persistence and development of gothic fiction, and the increasing dominance of a scientific worldview.

In the second part of the course, we will analyse the influence of some of the most important historical events (such as the Great War) and cultural movements (such as imagism) on the literature of the first part of the 20th century. We will then turn to discussion of significant post-war cultural and intellectual developments (such as postmodernity and postcolonialism), before concluding by considering contemporary British fiction. Central subjects to be discussed will include: the trauma of war, modernist art, national identity, imperialism, multiculturalism, and the marginalization and emancipation of women. 
Level

Presumed foreknowledge

Test information

Specifics

Required materials
Book
ISBN:9780393603132
Title:The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2 (10th ed.)
Author:Stephen Greenblatt et al. (eds)
Publisher:Norton
Edition:10
Book
ISBN:9780141441146
Title:Jane Eyre
Author:Charlotte Brontë
Publisher:Penguin
Book
ISBN:9780099526544
Title:England, England
Author:Julian Barnes
Publisher:Vintage

Instructional modes
Lecture
Attendance MandatoryYes

Seminar

Tests
Essay
Test weight40
Test typeProject
OpportunitiesBlock PER 3, Block PER 4

Minimum grade
5,5

Exam 19th and 20th Century
Test weight60
Test typeDigital exam with CIRRUS
OpportunitiesBlock PER 4, Block PER 4

Minimum grade
5,5