• Straub Julia

• Straub Julia

London is a metropolis that has figured prominently in modern English literature. An intellectual, cultural and artistic hub, a political capital, and a former imperial centre  – stories about London abound, and more often than not London is a shaping presence and not a mere setting. In this proseminar we will read selected stories set in or about London, or contributing to an “imaginary” surrounding London. We will cover a wide historical range reading texts that take us from the Victorian period, and the genre of Gothic fiction, to today’s multiculturalism and globalization.

We will explore various narrative forms and a wide gamut of topics related to big city life seen from many different perspectives. Authors whose works we will discuss are e.g., Arthur Conan Doyle, Katherine Mansfield, Elizabeth Bowen, Doris Lessing and Jean Rhys. We will also think more theoretically about the role of space and place in our analysis of literary texts.

Students can express themselves persuasively about the features of narrative texts belonging to different genres and periods.

Students can give well-informed accounts of the development of English literature from the 19^th century to the present day.

Students can apply general theoretical concepts to their analysis of literary texts.

Texts: The two longer texts that students are strongly advised to read before the start of the semester are:

R. L. Stevenson. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Ed. Roger Luckhurst. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-19-953622-1

Monica Ali. Brick Lane. London: Black Swan, 2004. ISBN: 978-0-552-15159-7

Copies of both books can be purchased at Librophoros.

Shorter texts will be made available on Moodle.