ENGL 3411H
20th Century British literature
History, Politics, Culture: From “Rule Britannia” to “Cool Britannia”
In this course we will examine one important thread in modern British history, politics
and culture: the legacy of British imperialism. At the end of the 19th century Britain,
confident in its untarnishable Britishness, held a global empire upon which, quite
literally, “the sun never set”. Sixty years later that empire had all but dissolved, and
Britain itself was in the process of being transformed by mass immigration from its
former colonies. Today’s Britain, despite periodic bouts of recidivistic “nationalism” is
in many ways post-national, perhaps even post-cultural, a globally networked space in
which new identities emerge daily. We will track this transformation through five
novels, beginning with Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, first published in 1902, and
ending with Hari Kunzru’s Transmission, published in 2004. In literary terms, what we
hope to achieve in this course is an understanding of the way modern and contemporary
British literature ‘writes back’ to nineteenth century literature and the colonial period.
Course Texts
The principal texts for this course are:
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
E.M. Forester, A Passage to India
Samuel Selvon The Lonely Londoners
Zadie Smith, White Teeth
Hari Kunzru, Transmission
There will also be support readings, including all the readings for week one, posted
online, and this reference work which is strongly recommended for all students:
William Messenger. The Concise Canadian Writer’s Handbook (Oxford)
Schedule:
The course is broken into three two-week modules. Students are forewarned that because
this course is compressed into six weeks it will entail approximately twice as much
reading and writing each week as a normal course.
Module One: Rule Britannia
1
Readings:
Excerpts from Robinson Crusoe
Mary Kingsley (selections)
William Thackeray, “From Cairo to Cornhill”
“Imperial Poetry”
Assignment:
Discussion 1
Discussion 2
Course Materials:
Podcast 1 Introduction to the course
Podcast 2 British Triumphalism
Lecture 1: Robinson Crusoe
Lecture 2: Travel Writing
Lecture 3: Britannia
2
Readings:
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
Assignment:
Discussion 3
Passage Analysis 1.
Course Materials:
Podcast 3 Introduction to Heart of Darkness
Lecture 4: Heart of Darkness
Module Two: The End of Empire
3
Readings:
E.M. Forester, A Passage to India
Assignment:
Discussion 4
Passage Analysis 2
Course Materials:
Podcast 4: Introduction to Passage to India
Lecture 5: Macaulay’s Minute on Education
Lecture 6: A Passage to India Part One
Lecture 7: A Passage to India Part Two
4
Readings:
Samuel Selvon The Lonely Londoners
Assignment:
Discussion 5
Passage Analysis 3
Course Materials:
Podcast 5: Introduction to The Lonely Londoners
Podcast 6: A note on what we’re missing
Lecture 8: Decolonising the Mind
Lecture 9: The Lonely Londoners
Module Three: New Britannia, Cool Britannia
5
6
Readings:
Zadie Smith, White Teeth
Assignment:
Discussion 6
Course Materials:
Podcast 7: Introduction to White Teeth
Lecture 10: Britain in the 70s and 80s
Lecture 11: White Teeth and Rivers of Blood
Readings:
Hari Kunzru, Transmission
Assignment:
Discussion 7
Essay
Course Materials:
Podcast 8: Introduction to Transmission
Lecture 12: Beyond Britannia
Final Exam date TBA
Assessment
Contribution to discussion forums……………………… 15%
Each week, you will have the opportunity
to participate informally in online discussion.
Passage analysis……………………………………….... 30% (3x10%)
In weeks two, three, and four, you will submit
analyses of assigned passages from the texts being studied.
Essay……………………………………………………
30%
In week six you will submit a 1700-2000 word essay on
one of several suggested topics.
Final exam………………………………………………
25%
Consisting of identifications and essay questions.
Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is
an extremely serious academic offense and carries penalties varying from failure in an
assignment to suspension from the University. Definitions, penalties, and procedures for
dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set out in Trent University’s Academic
Dishonesty Policy which is printed in the University Calendar and on the university web
site at: http://www.trentu.ca/deansoffice/policies_dishonesty.php
Access to Instruction: It is Trent University’s intent to create an inclusive learning
environment. If a student has a disability and/or health consideration and feels that he/she
may need accommodations to succeed in this course, the student should contact the
Disability Services Office (BL Suite 109; 748-1281; disabilityservices@trentu.ca) as
soon as possible.