Undergraduate Course: Makars and Scrievers: Scottish Literary History (LLLG07082)
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 will take students through a survey of Scottish literary history, introducing the predominant literary cultures that emerged between the medieval period and contemporary Scotland. We will focus on widely celebrated Scottish writers, especially those who contributed to long-running debates over Scottish national identity and its literary dimensions, including William Dunbar, Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, John Buchan, Hugh MacDiarmid, Muriel Spark, and Liz Lochhead. |
| Course description |
Week 1
A Brief Introduction to Scottish Literary History: a discussion on debates throughout Scottish literary history, on the idea of a 'national' literature and using the quotations on the Canongate Wall of the Scottish Parliament Building as texts for discussion (materials provided).
Week 2
Medieval Makars: Selections from the Poetry of Robert Henryson (1425-1500) and William Dunbar (1459-1520). From The New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse (Crawford and Imlach, eds.). Discussion on what it meant to write in the Medieval period, identifying continuities and differences with our modern ideas of literature.
Week 3
Ballads, Folktales, and Burns: Selection of Anonymous Ballads (from New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse), Folktales (from The Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories, Douglas Dunn, ed.), and Burns' Poems and Songs (from New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse, and handouts provided). Discussion on how ballads, songs and folktales are transmitted and shared, how they relate to written culture, and Burns' adoption of these forms.
Week 4
The Ettrick Shepherd and the Author of Waverley: James Hogg (1770-1835) 'The Cameronian Preacher's Tale' and Walter Scott (1771-1832) 'The Two Drovers' (Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories). Discussion on the supernatural, folk beliefs, song, religion, and cultural and linguistic diversity in Scotland.
Week 5
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) and the Short Story: Selection from Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories. Discussion on Stevenson's technique, his development of the use of the supernatural and folk beliefs, plotting and style.
Week 6
John Buchan (1875-1940) and The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915): Discussion on how adventure and dramatic tension is fostered, and on the characteristics and virtues of the Scottish / British hero in the latter days of the old Empire.
Week 7
Poetry of the Scottish Literary Renaissance: Selections from Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978), Edwin Muir (1887-1959), and Sorley MacLean (1911-1996) in New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse. Discussion on the efforts of these poets to revive a distinctively Scottish literary culture while addressing the problems of the modern world directly.
Week 8
Muriel Spark (1918-2006) and the Devil: The Ballad of Peckham Rye (1960). Discussion on class, the supernatural, Scottish and Irish migration, and on narrative structure.
Week 9
Contemporary Short Stories: Alasdair Gray (1934-) 'Prometheus', James Kelman (1946-) 'Home for a Couple of Days', and A.L. Kennedy (1965-) 'Night Geometry and the Garscadden Trains' (Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories). Discussion on variety of approaches to the contemporary short story, style, technique and experimentation with voice.
Week 10
Contemporary Poetry: Selections from Tom Leonard (1944-), Liz Lochhead (1947-), and Kathleen Jamie (1962-) in New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse and handouts. Discussion on variety of approaches to contemporary poetry, style, technique and experimentation with voice.
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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:
* demonstrate knowledge of key writers and ideas from Romantic, Victorian and Modern periods of Scottish literary history.
* demonstrate basic skills in literary criticism and analysis.
* show a grasp of historical, political, and cultural contexts for range of texts from throughout Scottish literary history.
* articulate and structure thoughts on literary texts, and demonstrate confidence in own perspective, showing independence of thought and developing own critical voice.
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Reading List
Essential
Crawford, Robert and Imlach, Mick eds., 2000. The New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse. London: Penguin.
Dunn, Douglas ed., 1995. The Oxford Book of Scottish Short Stories. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Buchan, John (1915) 2004. The Thirty-Nine Steps. London: Penguin.
Spark, Muriel (1960) 1999. The Ballad of Peckham Rye. London: Penguin.
Some other materials will be provided as handouts, or online links.
Recommended
Gifford, Douglas, Dunnigan, Sarah and MacGillivray, Alan eds., 2002. Scottish Literature in English and Scots. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Sassi, Carla 2005. Why Scottish Literature Matters. Edinburgh: Saltire Society.
Watson, Roderick 2006. The Literature of Scotland. 2nd ed., 2 vols., Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
* Close reading
* Conceptual / analytical discourse
* Confident, independent thought |
| 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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