OVERVIEW

TITLE: “Romantic Victorians”: the Young Benjamin Disraeli and His Contemporaries 

This is an advanced MA course on nineteenth-century English literature. Its prerequisite is a general knowledge of 19th century British history, and of Romantic and Victorian literature and culture. It is taught in the first semester (36 hours/6 credits).

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

MA literary courses involve lectures and workshops; they aim to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of aspects/moments in the history of British literature and culture from the Renaissance to the present age. Students will also learn and discuss all the critical and theoretical issues involved in the establishment of the literary canon and in its recent revisions.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students who attend classes regularly and actively, and study the prescribed material, will increase their historical-cultural awareness of nineteenth-century literature.  They will acquire an in-depth knowledge of the literary production of the 1820s & 1830s, and will become aware of the political and cultural frictions within a largely  under-studied corpus of texts. 

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures in English, plus seminar activities. Attendance is recommended. Students who are unable to attend will have to read supplementary/alternative material. 

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

“Romantic Victorians”: the Young Benjamin Disraeli and His Contemporaries  aims at familiarizing the student with the complex transition from Romanticism to Victorianism. It deals with largely under-studied authors, such as the young Benjamin Disraeli, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Catherine Gore, etc. and it touches on the conflict between aristocratic and middle-class values and life-styles, the flourishing of so-called silver-fork fiction, the persistence of satire and the surfacing of new more "realistic" modes of representation, the dandy, the myth of Byron and the rising culture of celebrity.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

All students will have to read: Benjamin Disraeli, Vivian Grey (part I) (1826) and The Young Duke (1831), as well as one work of fiction chosen among the following:

Thomas Henry Lister, Granby (1826)

Edward Bulwer Lytton, Pelham (1828)

Catherine Gore, The Hamiltons (1834)

Critical material, and additional shorter texts (poems, articles, essays, extracts), will be made available via aulaweb, and/or in the department library. The complete reading list, inclusive of information for non-attending students, will be published in aulaweb before Christmas.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LAURA COLOMBINO (President)

LUISA VILLA (President)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

CLASSES: Tuesday 14-15, Aula 1 (Albergo dei Poveri); Wednesday 9-10, Aula Magna (Polo Didattico, via delle Fontane); Friday 9-10, Aula L (Polo Didattico, via delle Fontane)

LESSONS START on Tuesday, October 17, 14-15 (aula IV, Balbi 5)

Class schedule

ENGLISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE MOD.1

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

This course is assessed by written examination (open questions/3 hours)

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Students will be asked to demonstrate their knowledge of primary texts and critical bibliography, their understanding of cultural and theoretical issues and their ability to analyse and contextualise extracts from literary texts. Their ability to write in English will also be taken into account. 

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attendance is strongly recommended. At the beginning of the course students will have to enrol in AulaWeb (https://lingue.aulaweb.unige.it/course/view.php?id=918). Enrolment for exams is online (www.unige.it).

This syllabus is valid till February 2019.