Undergraduate Course: Banned Books: Novels which have Courted Controversy (LLLG07071)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | THIS IS A FOR-CREDIT COURSE OFFERED BY THE OFFICE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING (OLL); ONLY STUDENTS REGISTERED WITH OLL SHOULD BE ENROLLED.
This course discusses novels that have caused controversy. We will look at each of the novels in context, considering how contemporary readers responded to them. The reading list includes novels which shocked readers because of their treatment of issues like war and slavery or their use of profanity. We will also consider works that depict a society of the future whose horrors did not seem far away enough from the present. We will think about whether these novels really are fundamentally controversial or simply challenge the social and political mores of their times. |
| Course description |
Week 1 and Week 2: Confronting the past: Toni Morrison's 'spiteful venom' on slavery.
Text: Toni Morrison: Beloved
Week 3 and Week 4: Offending the sensibilities of the Booker judges: Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting.
Text: Irvine Welsh: Trainspotting
Week 5 and Week 6: Satirising wartime bureaucracy: Heller's Catch 22.
Text: Joseph Heller: Catch 22
Week 7 and Week 8: Envisioning a future which was a bit too much like the present: Atwood's Handmaid's Tale
Text: Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale
Week 9 and Week 10: 'Promoting euthanasia'? John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.
Text: John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
* confidently discuss texts.
* assess literature based on close reading.
* place literature in its historical context.
* understand the various issues which affect the critical and public response to novels.
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Reading List
Essential:
Morrison. Toni. 1997. Beloved. London: Vintage.
Welsh, Irvine. 1994. Trainspotting. London: Vintage.
Heller, Joseph. 2011. Catch 22. London: Vintage.
Atwood, Margaret. 1996. The Handmaid's Tale. London: Vintage.
Steinbeck, John. 2006. Of Mice and Men. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Recommended:
Mullan, John. 2008. How Novels Work. OUP, Oxford. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
* Close critical reading of passages from texts.
* Small group working.
* Setting literature in historical, social and political context.
* Advance preparation of material for class including work for essays and class discussion.
* Wide reading. Students will be encouraged to work around the subject by reading other relevant secondary material. |
| Special Arrangements |
None |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Anya Clayworth
Tel:
Email: aclaywor@staffmail.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Sabine Murdoch
Tel: (0131 6)51 1855
Email: Sabine.Murdoch@ed.ac.uk |
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