ENGL 251 Classics of British Literature

This course focuses on the British literary canon, from The Canterbury Tales to the 20th Century classics. The birth of the novel form, the origins of genre fiction, and the development of literature in the Isles will be explored. From the age of kings to the age of empire, from the smoky Industrial Revolution through the Great Wars, this course will sample carefully chosen selections from the seminal works that reflected and influenced the identity of a nation in its own language. Special attention will also be paid to Britain’s role as an empire from the 18th through 20th Centuries, looking at how indigeneity was represented and misrepresented in British literature, laying the foundations for an introduction to Postcolonial and Decolonization Theory, as well as the critical differences between Colonialism and Settler Colonialism.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

ENGL 240

Distribution

EN