English and Comparative Literature
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The Department of English and Comparative Literature at Goldsmiths combines research strengths in English Studies and European studies. Consequently, staff in the Department are able to share their research interests in programmes spanning English, European and American literatures. Staff are working on diverse topics such as literature and politics, literature and photography, satire, and biographical and autobiographical writings.
Please note: in the Summer term you can choose to do 2 additional credits of project work related to courses studied in the Spring term. This work is negotiated individual study supported by some tutorial guidance. You should inform your home university and the Student Recruitment and International Office at Goldsmiths of the agreed topic once it has been confirmed. Once you have decided on topics you are interested in studying, your International Liaison tutor can help make the appropriate arrangements for tutorial guidance. You should aim to confirm these details by week 6 of the Spring term.
The following is a list of representative courses offered by the Department of English and Comparative Literature. Most, though not all, will be offered in 2011-12. In addition to the full-year courses listed, the Department also offers a number of half-year courses at Year 3 level. Different subjects are addressed from year to year, and the schedule for 2012-13 will not be set until the spring of 2012. Half-courses offered in recent sessions(though not in the summer term, April-June) have included: Language and Gender (EN53362A), The Outsider in Shakespeare (EN53376A), Writing the European City (EN53379A), The Classic Fairy Tale (EN53381A), and American Crime Fiction (EN53383A). Visit www.gold.ac.uk/studyabroad for up-to-date information on available courses.
See also Professional and Community Education for other courses in this subject and Language Proficiency courses (English, French, Spanish).
| Undergraduate Year | Description |
|---|---|
|
Year 1 |
a course for which you do not need any previous experience |
| Year 2 |
assumes that you have had some experience |
| Year 3 |
assumes a specialist knowledge of the |
Year 1
EN51001A
Explorations in Literature
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You are introduced to a wide range of works of poetry, prose and drama, from Homer (in translation) through to late 20th-century writing. Close reading in seminars supports a series of background and critical lectures.
Explorations in Literature
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You are introduced to a wide range of works of poetry, prose and drama, from Homer (in translation) through to late 20th-century writing. Close reading in seminars supports a series of background and critical lectures.
EN51002A
Approaches to Text
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
This is an introduction to the skills required in the analysis of literary texts. Through a series of interrelated lectures and seminars, you explore different ways of understanding what a ‘text’ is, what significance it might have, and what aspects of a text are interesting or useful to investigate.
Approaches to Text
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
This is an introduction to the skills required in the analysis of literary texts. Through a series of interrelated lectures and seminars, you explore different ways of understanding what a ‘text’ is, what significance it might have, and what aspects of a text are interesting or useful to investigate.
EN51004A
The Short Story
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You study short stories and tales from various literatures and periods. You examine examples of the importance and development of the genre through the study of texts taken from different national traditions. You also study classical sub-genres such as the tale of terror; consider the uses of the short story in diverse areas of 20th-century literature; undertake single-author studies of masters of the short story such as Edgar Allen Poe and Jorge Luis Borges; and evaluate examples of how to analyse short narrative texts.
The Short Story
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You study short stories and tales from various literatures and periods. You examine examples of the importance and development of the genre through the study of texts taken from different national traditions. You also study classical sub-genres such as the tale of terror; consider the uses of the short story in diverse areas of 20th-century literature; undertake single-author studies of masters of the short story such as Edgar Allen Poe and Jorge Luis Borges; and evaluate examples of how to analyse short narrative texts.
EN51007B
Engaging Poetry
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
This course introduces a range of poetic forms in English from the early modern period to the present. Chronological issues blend with more individualised approaches to the reading and understanding of poetry. The course consolidates your engagement with both the critical and practical appreciation of poetry and is supported by the participation of the Department’s creative practitioners.
Engaging Poetry
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
This course introduces a range of poetic forms in English from the early modern period to the present. Chronological issues blend with more individualised approaches to the reading and understanding of poetry. The course consolidates your engagement with both the critical and practical appreciation of poetry and is supported by the participation of the Department’s creative practitioners.
Year 2
EN52201A
Literature of the Later Middle Ages: Society and the Individual
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
An introduction to English literature of the later Middle Ages within a broad historical and cultural context. Selected texts are used to map shifts in literary technique, genre, attitudes to women, and the uses of Arthurian myth. Literary topics include the nature of allegory and satire, and the beast fable as genre.
Literature of the Later Middle Ages: Society and the Individual
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
An introduction to English literature of the later Middle Ages within a broad historical and cultural context. Selected texts are used to map shifts in literary technique, genre, attitudes to women, and the uses of Arthurian myth. Literary topics include the nature of allegory and satire, and the beast fable as genre.
EN52203A
The Victorians
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You study typical literary forms and leading writers of the Victorian period (1837-1901). Major issues of the period include the condition of England, faith and doubt, social change and reform, and the conflict between science and religious faith. You consider these through works by Brontë, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy and others.
The Victorians
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You study typical literary forms and leading writers of the Victorian period (1837-1901). Major issues of the period include the condition of England, faith and doubt, social change and reform, and the conflict between science and religious faith. You consider these through works by Brontë, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy and others.
EN52204A
Moderns
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
The course develops your understanding of the literature and culture of the Modern period from 1920, and strengthens your abilities in literary analysis. Through a close reading of representative texts you explore the historical and critical contexts within which modern writers strove to ‘make it new’ in poetry, fiction and drama.
Moderns
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
The course develops your understanding of the literature and culture of the Modern period from 1920, and strengthens your abilities in literary analysis. Through a close reading of representative texts you explore the historical and critical contexts within which modern writers strove to ‘make it new’ in poetry, fiction and drama.
EN52209A
Old English
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
This is an introduction to the language and literature of the Anglo-Saxons, with consideration of a variety of themes and genres, including history, lyric, mythology, poetic elegy and romance.
Old English
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
This is an introduction to the language and literature of the Anglo-Saxons, with consideration of a variety of themes and genres, including history, lyric, mythology, poetic elegy and romance.
EN52211A
Shakespeare
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
A chronological exploration of Shakespeare’s works, studied through close reading of the texts. Reference is made to the works’ social and intellectual contexts, and comparisons are developed between different works and groups of works.
Shakespeare
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
A chronological exploration of Shakespeare’s works, studied through close reading of the texts. Reference is made to the works’ social and intellectual contexts, and comparisons are developed between different works and groups of works.
EN5225A
Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
This course covers the prose, poetry and drama of the Restoration and eighteenth century, with emphasis on the Restoration comic stage, English satire in prose and verse, the rise of the novel, and the poetry of nature and imagination. Writers include Behn, Rochester, Swift, Pope, Fielding and Sterne.
Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
This course covers the prose, poetry and drama of the Restoration and eighteenth century, with emphasis on the Restoration comic stage, English satire in prose and verse, the rise of the novel, and the poetry of nature and imagination. Writers include Behn, Rochester, Swift, Pope, Fielding and Sterne.
EN52226A
Sensibility and Romanticism: Revolutions in Writing and Society
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You explore representative poems, novels and non-fictional prose of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, involving the literature of Sensibility, the Gothic novel, Romantic poetry and its contemporary criticism.
Sensibility and Romanticism: Revolutions in Writing and Society
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You explore representative poems, novels and non-fictional prose of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, involving the literature of Sensibility, the Gothic novel, Romantic poetry and its contemporary criticism.
EN52227A
Literature of the English Renaissance
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
An introduction to multiple forms of writing, from the mid-16th to the late 17th century, providing detailed analysis of selected texts considered in their social and intellectual contexts. Topics of special interest include Elizabethan lyric poetry, Renaissance humanism, Shakespeare and the London stage, non-Shakespearean drama, metaphysical poets, and the Civil War.
Literature of the English Renaissance
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
An introduction to multiple forms of writing, from the mid-16th to the late 17th century, providing detailed analysis of selected texts considered in their social and intellectual contexts. Topics of special interest include Elizabethan lyric poetry, Renaissance humanism, Shakespeare and the London stage, non-Shakespearean drama, metaphysical poets, and the Civil War.
EN52230A
Varieties of English
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
You explore how and why language is used differently in a variety of contexts. You examine language in relation to region, gender, ethnicity, age and social class. You study various examples of spoken and written language, and examine the role of literature and the media in representing language variation.
Varieties of English
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
You explore how and why language is used differently in a variety of contexts. You examine language in relation to region, gender, ethnicity, age and social class. You study various examples of spoken and written language, and examine the role of literature and the media in representing language variation.
EN52238B
Inventing the Nation: American Literature in the Mid-19th Century
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
The main aim of this course is to cover one of the most productive and significant periods in American literature. Major authors of the period are situated in the context of key themes in political, social, intellectual and cultural history. You look at some of the important intellectual and literary movements Transcendentalism, slave literature by both black and white writers, women’s writing and literature of the West.
Inventing the Nation: American Literature in the Mid-19th Century
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
The main aim of this course is to cover one of the most productive and significant periods in American literature. Major authors of the period are situated in the context of key themes in political, social, intellectual and cultural history. You look at some of the important intellectual and literary movements Transcendentalism, slave literature by both black and white writers, women’s writing and literature of the West.
EN52273C
Drama and Transgression. From Prometheus to Faust
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
We will examine a selection of dramatic text which not only negotiate the significance of conflicts between protagonists (male and female) and the divine or the state in ways that are typical of key stages in the European history of ideas, but also handle the attempts by women to achieve independence of spirit and freedom of action in patriarchal societies.
Drama and Transgression. From Prometheus to Faust
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
We will examine a selection of dramatic text which not only negotiate the significance of conflicts between protagonists (male and female) and the divine or the state in ways that are typical of key stages in the European history of ideas, but also handle the attempts by women to achieve independence of spirit and freedom of action in patriarchal societies.
Year 3
EN53308A
Modern American Fiction
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
A study of selected works from the 1930s to the present, considered in their historical and cultural contexts. The course includes some of the recognised landmarks of American fiction and drama, along with more ‘marginal’ works, reflecting the diverse voices of American cultures and subcultures.
Modern American Fiction
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
A study of selected works from the 1930s to the present, considered in their historical and cultural contexts. The course includes some of the recognised landmarks of American fiction and drama, along with more ‘marginal’ works, reflecting the diverse voices of American cultures and subcultures.
EN53312B
Aspects of the Novel
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
You discuss selected novelists from Cervantes to Calvino, and study representative landmarks of realism as well as later modernist and postmodernist novels. You consider theoretical problems of narrative voice, strategy, character and mimesis.
Aspects of the Novel
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
You discuss selected novelists from Cervantes to Calvino, and study representative landmarks of realism as well as later modernist and postmodernist novels. You consider theoretical problems of narrative voice, strategy, character and mimesis.
EN53317A
Caribbean Women Writers
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You focus on the work of Afro-Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean women writers. By way of comparison you also refer to the writings of black women around the world. In your coursework you can choose to develop this comparison with a non-Caribbean black or other ethnic minority woman writer.
Caribbean Women Writers
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You focus on the work of Afro-Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean women writers. By way of comparison you also refer to the writings of black women around the world. In your coursework you can choose to develop this comparison with a non-Caribbean black or other ethnic minority woman writer.
EN53318A
Oedipus: Myths, Tragedies and Theories
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
This course explores the myths, dramas and theories surrounding Oedipus and Antigone. The first term is devoted to versions of the Oedipus myth produced in classical Greece and Rome and in England before the 20th century; the second term focuses on post-Freudian adaptations of the legend in the 20th century, on stage and screen.
Oedipus: Myths, Tragedies and Theories
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
This course explores the myths, dramas and theories surrounding Oedipus and Antigone. The first term is devoted to versions of the Oedipus myth produced in classical Greece and Rome and in England before the 20th century; the second term focuses on post-Freudian adaptations of the legend in the 20th century, on stage and screen.
EN53333A
Modern Poetry
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
Modern Poetry in Britain and America traces the diverse course of post-war poetries from these countries. The first term focuses on Britain and includes study of Auden, Larkin, Hughes, Heaney, Dunn, McGuckian, Nichols, Muldoon, Duffy and Johnson. The second term focuses on America and includes Williams, Stein, McKay, Olsen, Creeley, Ginsberg, O’Hara, Ashbery, Plath, Baraka, and Hejinian.
Modern Poetry
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
Modern Poetry in Britain and America traces the diverse course of post-war poetries from these countries. The first term focuses on Britain and includes study of Auden, Larkin, Hughes, Heaney, Dunn, McGuckian, Nichols, Muldoon, Duffy and Johnson. The second term focuses on America and includes Williams, Stein, McKay, Olsen, Creeley, Ginsberg, O’Hara, Ashbery, Plath, Baraka, and Hejinian.
EN53339A
The Emergence of Modern America: American Literature 1890-1940
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
Covers the period from the closing of the frontier in America to the eve of the Second World War; a period that saw mass immigration and urban growth, the crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Through a selection of poetry and fiction, the course traces some major themes: the literary and cultural move from Naturalism to Modernism, the Harlem Renaissance, American Feminism, Expatriate writers and the cult of the Lost Generation, Regionalism, Documentarism and the emergence of an American poetic vernacular. The course is lecture- and seminar-based; lectures examine the relation of visual arts, music and cinema to literature of the period.
The Emergence of Modern America: American Literature 1890-1940
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
Covers the period from the closing of the frontier in America to the eve of the Second World War; a period that saw mass immigration and urban growth, the crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Through a selection of poetry and fiction, the course traces some major themes: the literary and cultural move from Naturalism to Modernism, the Harlem Renaissance, American Feminism, Expatriate writers and the cult of the Lost Generation, Regionalism, Documentarism and the emergence of an American poetic vernacular. The course is lecture- and seminar-based; lectures examine the relation of visual arts, music and cinema to literature of the period.
EN53342A
Postcolonial Literatures in English
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
An analysis of the literature and culture produced in the aftermath of, and in response to, the end of European colonialism. You address representations of colonialism and decolonisation, and the experience of postcolonial societies and diasporic peoples. Attention is paid to the issues of form, ethnicity, class and gender in postcolonial literatures, the claims of nativist ideologies and cosmopolitan theories of ‘hybridity’.
Postcolonial Literatures in English
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
An analysis of the literature and culture produced in the aftermath of, and in response to, the end of European colonialism. You address representations of colonialism and decolonisation, and the experience of postcolonial societies and diasporic peoples. Attention is paid to the issues of form, ethnicity, class and gender in postcolonial literatures, the claims of nativist ideologies and cosmopolitan theories of ‘hybridity’.
EN53343A
Literature in Question: Writing since World War II
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You study issues explored by post-war literature, starting from the debate initiated by Sartre’s ‘What is Literature?’ and looking at literary and theoretical texts. You discuss how the role, scope and status of literature have been re-assessed within literary texts and by other disciplines. The course addresses the relationships between literature and philosophy, literature and ethics, literature and history, literature and science; it studies how generic boundaries and literary forms come under pressure and are re-defined; and it discusses authenticity, individual and national identity, the role and status of language, the literary canon and the possibility of originality, and the relationship between gender and writing.
Literature in Question: Writing since World War II
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You study issues explored by post-war literature, starting from the debate initiated by Sartre’s ‘What is Literature?’ and looking at literary and theoretical texts. You discuss how the role, scope and status of literature have been re-assessed within literary texts and by other disciplines. The course addresses the relationships between literature and philosophy, literature and ethics, literature and history, literature and science; it studies how generic boundaries and literary forms come under pressure and are re-defined; and it discusses authenticity, individual and national identity, the role and status of language, the literary canon and the possibility of originality, and the relationship between gender and writing.
EN53344A
Studies in Literature and Film
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You explore the close relationship between literature and film in the 20th century. You study literature and film from a range of perspectives, both separately and in relation to each other, with an emphasis on cultural and historical criticism. You also examine the particular characteristics of both literature and film and the cross-connections between them through a detailed study of selected poems, plays, essays, experimental films, and feature films. Texts are drawn from a range of national literatures and cinemas. Foreign literary texts are studied in translation.
Studies in Literature and Film
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
You explore the close relationship between literature and film in the 20th century. You study literature and film from a range of perspectives, both separately and in relation to each other, with an emphasis on cultural and historical criticism. You also examine the particular characteristics of both literature and film and the cross-connections between them through a detailed study of selected poems, plays, essays, experimental films, and feature films. Texts are drawn from a range of national literatures and cinemas. Foreign literary texts are studied in translation.
EN53345A
Modernism and Drama (1880-1930)
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
Whilst modernist drama on the European continent is characterised by anti-realist tendencies, modern English drama continues the tradition of Realism. The course explores the main contrasts and affinities between these modernist and realist trends, focusing in the Autumn term on varieties of modernist drama, and in the Spring term on major innovative approaches to Realism from 1880-1930. Through a close reading of representative texts, you are introduced to a range of dramatic forms and techniques of the period. Examples from expressionist film acquaint you with questions related to performance, stage set, and lighting.
Modernism and Drama (1880-1930)
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
Whilst modernist drama on the European continent is characterised by anti-realist tendencies, modern English drama continues the tradition of Realism. The course explores the main contrasts and affinities between these modernist and realist trends, focusing in the Autumn term on varieties of modernist drama, and in the Spring term on major innovative approaches to Realism from 1880-1930. Through a close reading of representative texts, you are introduced to a range of dramatic forms and techniques of the period. Examples from expressionist film acquaint you with questions related to performance, stage set, and lighting.
EN53349B
Decadence
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
This course explores the literature of decadence in France and England in the 19th century. The principal themes of decadence – degeneration, disease, sex, death – are traced in the work of various writers, and understood in the context of contemporary cultural anxieties and controversies.
Decadence
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; )
This course explores the literature of decadence in France and England in the 19th century. The principal themes of decadence – degeneration, disease, sex, death – are traced in the work of various writers, and understood in the context of contemporary cultural anxieties and controversies.
EN53371A
Language and the Media
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
This course introduces you to a semiotic approach to the analysis of media texts, and to a multi-modal perspective on the analysis of communication. You compare and analyse media and literary genres. The course develops your critical awareness of a variety of linguistic techniques for analysing media discourse types and genres, and enables you particularly to understand the relationship in specific media discourses/genres between text and context.
Language and the Media
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
This course introduces you to a semiotic approach to the analysis of media texts, and to a multi-modal perspective on the analysis of communication. You compare and analyse media and literary genres. The course develops your critical awareness of a variety of linguistic techniques for analysing media discourse types and genres, and enables you particularly to understand the relationship in specific media discourses/genres between text and context.
EN53384A
English Renaissance Theatre
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
Beginning with the court comedies of John Lyly and the public theatre plays of Christopher Marlowe, the course carries through to the Jacobean and Caroline playwrights (John Webster, John Ford) and the closing of the theatres in 1642. Attention will be given to contextual matters – the playhouses, companies, audiences, court – as well as to close analysis of language.
English Renaissance Theatre
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
Beginning with the court comedies of John Lyly and the public theatre plays of Christopher Marlowe, the course carries through to the Jacobean and Caroline playwrights (John Webster, John Ford) and the closing of the theatres in 1642. Attention will be given to contextual matters – the playhouses, companies, audiences, court – as well as to close analysis of language.
EN53385A
Shakespeare and the Early Modern
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
Looks at the role and development of major early modern thinkers and writers within the context of Shakespeare’s plays and poems. Drawing on a range of philosophy, literature, religious writing and political thought, we explore the ways in which Shakespeare stages some of the major concerns of his day within the context of intellectual innovations across Europe c1400-1600.
Shakespeare and the Early Modern
(4 credits, Autumn; 4 credits, Spring; 2 credits, Summer; )
Looks at the role and development of major early modern thinkers and writers within the context of Shakespeare’s plays and poems. Drawing on a range of philosophy, literature, religious writing and political thought, we explore the ways in which Shakespeare stages some of the major concerns of his day within the context of intellectual innovations across Europe c1400-1600.
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