English III: Focus on Literature

• demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of one of the areas of English literature, including familiarity with current research questions of the area or subject
• show the ability and skills needed to develop a research question and then independently search for, collect, evaluate and critically interpret and analyse relevant information
• conduct an independent literary study with basic scholarly value, some connection to current research, a relevant choice of method or theoretical application, as well as a clear argumentative drive, based on thoroughly carried out literary analyses within a limited frame of time
• orally and in writing, present and argue for his or her own results showing a high level of communicative competence
• analyse and discuss the scholarly work of others by pointing out strengths as well as weaknesses in the form of constructive response
• demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of a selection of contemporary literary works from the English-speaking world through a theoretical as well as cultural and historical perspective
• show a basic knowledge of modern and postmodern literary and cultural theory by describing the main trends of literary criticism from liberal humanism to ecocriticism
• analyse and interpret the literary texts in light of these theories
• orally and in writing communicate and argue for his or her own interpretations of the literary as well as critical and theoretical texts, in a clear and appropriate academic English.

If Module 3a is studied, the student will be able to:

• demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of a selection of representative works in Irish literature in a cultural and historical context
• analyse, reflect upon, and apply key postcolonial literary terms and theories in the context of Irish literature
• demonstrate an ability to independently identify and formulate key issues in the area studied
• demonstrate an ability to clearly and persuasively argue for a variety of literary interpretations in correct English, orally and in writing

If Module 3b is studied, the student will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of issues in translation theory and be able to critically evaluate their own and others’ translations in these terms
• demonstrate an advanced proficiency in translation to and from English, as well as a solid awareness of stylistics
• demonstrate an awareness of issues surrounding the translation of poetry and prose.

Modules

Modules

The course starts with a study of the literary research process, including the choice of topic, research question, methodology or theoretical approach, search for secondary sources, outline and the actual craft of academic writing. The student then carries out an independent literary study of a well-defined and limited problem area which is directly connected to English literature in English. The study is presented in the form of an independently written essay of about 20-25 pages (5,000-6,000 words). The course also consists of practice in the oral presentation and defence of the student’s own results and arguments, as well as of analyses of other students’ work.

The course consists of a selection of contemporary literary works from the English-speaking world, which are studied from the perspective of number of modern and postmodern cultural and theoretical schools of thought, such as liberal humanism, structuralism, poststructuralism, deconstruction, postmodernism, feminism/gender theory, Marxism, psychoanalysis and ecocriticism.

The course consists of the study of a selection of Irish literary and cultural texts from the 16^th century to the 1940s. The texts will be read from the viewpoint of the historical and cultural context of their occurrence, and different post-colonial terms and theories will be used whenever they prove relevant to the interpretation of the literary texts.

The module involves the study of translation theory and practice. Stylistic awareness will be practiced through the translation of texts in different registers between English and Swedish. The study of literature and linguistics is integrated through studying and analysing linguistic aspects of literary texts (both poetry and prose) and relating it to the central theme of the text and the different interpretive possibilities. In this way the course practices both linguistic and literary skills in the analysis of literary texts.

The Swedish grades U–VG.