ENGLISH LITERATURE 2

This course is an introduction to the major artistic and literary phenomena of 19th Century England, also considered with reference to the European context. It is addressed to students of the literary-cultural Curriculum of LCSL, and it will build upon their knowledge in the field of study acquired in the previous year. The study of novels and essays will enhance their skills in textual analysis, in understanding historical and cultural contexts, and in the acquisition of critical language. Classes will be mostly taught in English and the students’ active participation will be encouraged.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will hopefully learn:

1) to read, understand and translate novels and to relate them to their historical and cultural contexts;
2) to analyse critically a literary text;
3) to make autonomous judgements;
4) to show in academic writing that you can think critically about the topics discussed and that you can back up your points with evidence.

Students must be proficient in English. They are required to have certified English proficiency at level B. (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).
They are also expected to be familiar with nineteenth-century English literature.

TITLE: The monster, the rebel child, the fallen woman, the vagrant: figures of the misfit in 19th-century English Literature

This module will give students the critical tools to read mid-nineteenth-century English fiction. We shall initially give some conceptual coordinates of the period and highlight the terms of the current debate on Romanticism and the Victorian age. The course aims to introduce the student to the most relevant literary phenomena characterizing 19th-century Britain, and their interconnection with the main historical and social factors, i.e. the Industrial Revolution, colonialism, and the woman question. We shall study four novels whose main characters, in different ways, embody the condition of marginalization. Excluded from their family, society, or even from mankind each of them raises questions on the relationships between social and religious norms and transgression, striving for inclusion by challenging the notions of individual freedom, tolerance, and collective responsibility.

BIBLIOGRAFIA:
Le opere si trovano tutte in consultazione nella Biblioteca di Anglistica a Palazzo Cosulich:

1. Il contesto letterario:
1.a) Philip Davis, The Victorians, Oxford: OUP, 2001 (capitoli 1- 3: pp. 13-157 ; 5: pp. 197-256);
1.b) F. Marucci, Storia della letteratura inglese (Firenze, Le Lettere 2003), vol. III (tomo II): dal 1832 al 1870, Il romanzo: pp. 489-498, 517-522 (Gaskell); 554-573, 593-605 (Ch. Bronte);
or: 1.b) Pauline Nestor, Female friendships and communities: Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell, Oxford: OUP, 1985.
1.c.) Michela Vanon Alliata "Frankenstein e la sua orribile progenie", in Nel segno dell'Horror. Forme e figure di un genere, a cura di M. Vanon Alliata, Cafoscarina 2007, pp. 49-74; OR Nancy Yousef, "The Monster in a Dark Room: Frankenstein, Feminism and Philosophy", MLQ, 63: 2, 2002, pp. 197.226.

2. works in English:
4 novels in Penguin Classics or other critical editions with introduction and notes:
- Mary Shelley, "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus" (1818)
- Charlotte Brontë, "Jane Eyre" (1847)
- Elizabeth Gaskell, "Ruth" (1853)
- Ch. Dickens, "Dr Marigold's Prescriptions" (1865).

Students will be assessed by a final written exam either in Italian or in English consisting of:

1) one open-ended question on the Victorian historical/cultural/literary context;
2) two critical analyses of two given passages drawn from the works indicated in the primary sources;
3) one short translation from English into Italian

Non-native English speakers are not requested to do the translation. They will write a critical analysis of the given passage.

written

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

18-21: sufficient knowledge of the authors and ability to expound the texts presented in class;


22-24: good knowledge of the authors and sufficient ability to philologically and critically investigate the texts;


25-27: very good knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the textbooks; orderly exposition, but not always correct use of critical terminology;


28-30: excellent knowledge of the authors and good or excellent capacity for philological and critical investigation of the texts presented in class;

Honours will be awarded in the presence of excellent knowledge of the authors and capacity for philological and critical investigation of the texts.

Front lessons and class discussions

Ideally, students should read the novels indicated in the primary sources before the beginning of the course in order to increase their participation in class discussions.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development