Universität Wien

127011 KO Critical Readings in Literature (2023W)

Imagining the Nonhuman in British Narrative Fiction

6.00 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. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 11.10. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 18.10. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 25.10. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 08.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 15.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 22.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 29.11. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 06.12. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 13.12. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 10.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 17.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 24.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Wednesday 31.01. 14:15 - 15:45 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In this course we will undertake an exemplary survey of British narrative fiction that deals with questions of human-animal relations, animality vs. humanity, and the representation of nonhuman consciousness. Our syllabus is bookended by an obscure early modern prose satire and a contemporary experimental novel. In between those, we’ll be covering some canonical texts and some less well-known ones (see reading list).

Various narratological tools and concepts will enable us to make sense of our primary texts. Participants are encouraged to revise their notes from the literary theory lectures in preparation of this course (see also chapter 5 of Vera und Ansgar Nünning’s Introduction to the Study of English and American Literature). Based on formal analysis, we will be able to able to locate our texts within their cultural and historical context, focusing on questions of human-animal relations, how they have changed, and how they have stayed the same. In these interpretations we will draw on seminal texts from human-animal studies.

Students must own and use hard copies of primary texts, except for those made available in the course reader, which also contains essential secondary reading. The required editions of primary works and the course reader will be available at FACULTAS am Campus. Additional resources will be made available on Moodle.

Assessment and permitted materials

regular attendance / preparation of assigned reading / active participation in class / specialist session / portfolio (three literary analyses, one critical review)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria


Point distribution as follows:
20 % Active participation
20 % Specialist session
30 % Critical review (1500 words)
30 % Short literary analyses (3x 800 words)

Points must be collected in all categories. Students must attain 60% to pass this course.

Marking as follows:
90-100 % 1 (very good)
80 - 89 % 2 (good)
70 - 79 % 3 (satisfactory)
60 - 69 % 4 (pass)
00 - 59 % 5 (fail)

Handouts and the portfolio must adhere to the department’s style sheet for papers in literary and cultural studies.

Examination topics

No written exam

Reading list

– Baldwin, William. Beware the Cat (1561)
– Cavendish, Margaret. Blazing World (1666)
– Wells, H. G., The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
– Woolf, Virginia. Flush (1933)
– Orwell, George. Animal Farm (1945)
– Golding, William. The Inheritors (1955)
– Lessing, Doris. The Memoirs of a Survivor (1974)
– Carter, Angela. ‘The Werewolf’; ‘The Company of Wolves’; ‘Wolf-Alice’ from The Bloody Chamber (1979)
– McEwan, Ian. ‘Reflections of a Kept Ape’ from In Between the Sheets (1979)
– Arnold, Amy, Slip of a Fish (2018)

Association in the course directory

Studium: BA 612; BEd 046/407
Code/Modul: BA08.3; BEd Modul 10
Lehrinhalt: 12-3000

Last modified: Tu 17.10.2023 19:27