Undergraduate Course: Banned Books: Novels which have Courted Controversy (LLLG07071)
Course Outline
| School | Centre for Open Learning |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| 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 CENTRE FOR OPEN LEARNING (COL); ONLY STUDENTS REGISTERED WITH COL 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 were banned, hidden under library counters and which reflect voices, themes, or ideas we may find challenging. We will think about whether these novels really are fundamentally controversial or simply challenge the social and political mores of their times. |
| Course description |
Contents
This course provides discussion of key issues around acceptability in the study of literature. You will explore five novels which have been banned, looking at the contemporary reasons for those bans but also whether the controversy is still a current issue. Our aim will be to investigate, through discussion and close reading where and if we draw the line in our reading. Guidance will be provided weekly of our focus points for discussion and additional resources will be available on our course website. By the end of the class, students will have a wider understanding of the way in society regulates how we deal with controversial topics in what we read.
Teaching methods
Students on this course will read five novels which represent key moments in the history of how we deal with controversy in literature. Through mini-lectures and seminar discussion, students will explore the key elements of each novel and develop skills in close reading, critical analysis, using and interpreting secondary reading and writing an academic piece of work. Students will engage with the texts through excerpts for close reading, chosen by the tutor, in a supportive tutorial atmosphere.
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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
On completion of this course, the student will 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:
Lawrence, D. H. (2006) Lady Chatterley¿s Lover. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Burroughs, W. S. (2015) Naked Lunch. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Waugh, E. (2000) Brideshead Revisited. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Angelou, M. (2004) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. London: Virago.
Grassic Gibbon, L. (2006) Sunset Song. Edinburgh: Canongate.
Recommended:
Mullan, J. (2008) How Novels Work. Oxford: OUP.
Fishburn, M. (2008) Burning Books. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Karolides, N.J. & Wachsberger, K. (2011) Literature suppressed on political grounds. New York: Facts on File.
Sova, D., & Wachsberger, K. (2011) Literature suppressed on sexual grounds. New York: Facts on File.
Doyle, R.P. (2014) Banned Books: Challenging our Freedom to Read. Chicago, Illinois: American Library Association.
Haight, A.L. & Grannis, C.B. (1978) Banned books, 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. New York, London: Bowker.
Web sources
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10
Handouts: Reviews of the novels and articles about the novels will be provided as handouts.
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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 | Mr Douglas Dougan
Tel:
Email: ddougan@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr John Ethcuit
Tel: (0131 6)50 3409
Email: jethcuit@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
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