Universität Wien

123047 PS Proseminar Literature / Literary Studies (2015S)

Fiends, Frauds, and Femmes Fatales: Mid-19th-Century Sensation Literature.

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 10.03. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 17.03. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 24.03. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 14.04. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 21.04. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 28.04. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 05.05. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 12.05. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 19.05. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 02.06. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 09.06. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 16.06. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 23.06. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Tuesday 30.06. 18:00 - 20:00 Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

When thinking of mid-19th-century British literature, a great number of renowned Realist authors comes to mind: George Eliot, Charles Dickens, The Brontë sisters, etc. However, hardly any student of English literature knows that besides the Realist tradition the mid-19th-century literary landscape of Great Britain was also characterised by another literary tradition, which deviated from the established Realist and moral standards, namely sensation fiction. Dedicated to “Harrowing the Mind, Making the Flesh Creep, Causing the Hair to Stand on End, Giving Shocks to the Nervous System, Destroying Conventional Moralities, and generally Unfitting the Public for the Prosaic Avocations of Life”, sensation fiction could boast of an incredibly large readership since its shocking and transgressive contents appealed to people from the upper and lower classes alike. But although a number of sensation novels rank among the most popular and bestselling novels of the entire 19th century, the genre was often (unjustly) dismissed too lightly as pulp fiction lacking any literary value. Indeed, the genre was only recently rediscovered by literary scholars and attempts at reassessment have been made. Therefore, this introductory seminar intends to make students familiar with a long-neglected genre and thereby show them how diversified the Victorian literary landscape actually was.

Assessment and permitted materials

Class participation, short oral presentation, short assignments, end-term paper, final written exam

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

In addition to becoming familiar with a variety of texts from the genre of sensation fiction, students will learn how to analyse texts from different genres (poems, plays, novels) from a number of critical perspectives and how to write and structure academic papers. Furthermore, they will be taught how to search for relevant literature and how to quote secondary sources.

Examination topics

Lecture, group work, class discussions, student presentations, small assignments

Reading list

1) A reader will be available at Copystudio Schwarzspanierstraße
2) "Lady Audley's Secret" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon to be purchased at bookstore Facultas

Association in the course directory

Studium: UF 344, BA 612; BEd 046
Code/Modul: UF 3.3.3-304, BA10.1; BEd 08a.1, BEd 08b.2
Lehrinhalt: 12-3041

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33