Fachbereich 05: Sprache, Literatur, Kultur - Anglistik - Bachelor of Arts (Studienbeginn bis Wintersemester 2019/20)

This lecture provides an overview of British literary history, one novel at a time. We will begin in the 18th century with Daniel Defoe, who is often credited with writing the first English novel, and end in the 21st century with Bernardine Evaristo, the first ever Black writer to have received the most prestigious British literary prize, the Booker. In between these two authors, we will move through the most important literary epochs and movements, from Romanticism, the Victorian Age, Modernism, Postmodernism and what lies beyond, to look at famous literary works and Britain’s most important authors. This approach also allows us to touch on questions of canon formation, and to think about the selection processes in the literary field that, still today, shape the reading lists of schools and universities. As the title suggests, we won’t read only books written by dead white men, but they will be prominently represented. The lecture will also touch on important approaches of literary studies, key concepts and literary theories that have shaped our understanding of the discussed novels. Take this lecture if you want to get an overview of British literary history, and idea of how the style of writing changed throughout the centuries, and to hear a little bit about the prominent cultural, social, and political concerns that provide the backgrounds of the different novels.
Among the texts discussed in this lecture are Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders (1722), Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818), Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847), Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1899), Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway (1925), Julian Barnes, England, England (1998), and Bernardine Evaristo, Girl, Woman, Other (2019).

In this course, we will deal with a particularly exciting genre of Victorian literature, the sensation novel. In the 1860s, this quickly rising new genre caused more than just a stir in the literary scene. It came upon the Victorian literary landscape like an earthquake that shook and tumbled about its power structures, moralities and value system. Against this background, the genre of the sensation novel offers us a particularly interesting and insightful perspective into just that – Victorian society and the values at its core that kept the boundaries between class, gender, and race intact. In particular, we will look at the way these values shape the idea of femininity/masculinity and family as the social institutions that lie at the heart of Victorian society.
In this class, we will read a famous example of the Victorian sensation novel vis-à-vis a Neo- (or sometimes also called Retro-) Victorian novel that challenges the Victorian take on gender, sexuality, and morality. Comparing these two novels, we might be able to understand a bit better the allure of this genre, but also the danger that it emanated, which caused so many debates among Victorian critics. The course offers an introduction to the genre of the sensation novel, as well as a repetition of the most important tools and concepts of literary analysis, and will give you an opportunity to hone your narratological skills. It will also provide an introduction into feminist literary criticism and key concepts of gender studies.
We will read two novels in this class, and discuss some further examples (you are welcome to also make suggestions). Please get your own copy of these novels before the beginning of term.
Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret (1865)
Sarah Waters, Fingersmith (2002)
Further reading will be made available during the semester.

In this course, we will deal with a particularly exciting genre of Victorian literature, the sensation novel. In the 1860s, this quickly rising new genre caused more than just a stir in the literary scene. It came upon the Victorian literary landscape like an earthquake that shook and tumbled about its power structures, moralities and value system. Against this background, the genre of the sensation novel offers us a particularly interesting and insightful perspective into just that – Victorian society and the values at its core that kept the boundaries between class, gender, and race intact. In particular, we will look at the way these values shape the idea of femininity/masculinity and family as the social institutions that lie at the heart of Victorian society.
In this class, we will read a famous example of the Victorian sensation novel vis-à-vis a Neo- (or sometimes also called Retro-) Victorian novel that challenges the Victorian take on gender, sexuality, and morality. Comparing these two novels, we might be able to understand a bit better the allure of this genre, but also the danger that it emanated, which caused so many debates among Victorian critics. The course offers an introduction to the genre of the sensation novel, as well as a repetition of the most important tools and concepts of literary analysis, and will give you an opportunity to hone your narratological skills. It will also provide an introduction into feminist literary criticism and key concepts of gender studies.
We will read two novels in this class, and discuss some further examples (you are welcome to also make suggestions). Please get your own copy of these novels before the beginning of term.
Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret (1865)
Sarah Waters, Fingersmith (2002)
Further reading will be made available during the semester.

In this course, we will deal with a particularly exciting genre of Victorian literature, the sensation novel. In the 1860s, this quickly rising new genre caused more than just a stir in the literary scene. It came upon the Victorian literary landscape like an earthquake that shook and tumbled about its power structures, moralities and value system. Against this background, the genre of the sensation novel offers us a particularly interesting and insightful perspective into just that – Victorian society and the values at its core that kept the boundaries between class, gender, and race intact. In particular, we will look at the way these values shape the idea of femininity/masculinity and family as the social institutions that lie at the heart of Victorian society.
In this class, we will read a famous example of the Victorian sensation novel vis-à-vis a Neo- (or sometimes also called Retro-) Victorian novel that challenges the Victorian take on gender, sexuality, and morality. Comparing these two novels, we might be able to understand a bit better the allure of this genre, but also the danger that it emanated, which caused so many debates among Victorian critics. The course offers an introduction to the genre of the sensation novel, as well as a repetition of the most important tools and concepts of literary analysis, and will give you an opportunity to hone your narratological skills. It will also provide an introduction into feminist literary criticism and key concepts of gender studies.
We will read two novels in this class, and discuss some further examples (you are welcome to also make suggestions). Please get your own copy of these novels before the beginning of term.
Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret (1865)
Sarah Waters, Fingersmith (2002)
Further reading will be made available during the semester.

In this course, we will deal with a particularly exciting genre of Victorian literature, the sensation novel. In the 1860s, this quickly rising new genre caused more than just a stir in the literary scene. It came upon the Victorian literary landscape like an earthquake that shook and tumbled about its power structures, moralities and value system. Against this background, the genre of the sensation novel offers us a particularly interesting and insightful perspective into just that – Victorian society and the values at its core that kept the boundaries between class, gender, and race intact. In particular, we will look at the way these values shape the idea of femininity/masculinity and family as the social institutions that lie at the heart of Victorian society.
In this class, we will read a famous example of the Victorian sensation novel vis-à-vis a Neo- (or sometimes also called Retro-) Victorian novel that challenges the Victorian take on gender, sexuality, and morality. Comparing these two novels, we might be able to understand a bit better the allure of this genre, but also the danger that it emanated, which caused so many debates among Victorian critics. The course offers an introduction to the genre of the sensation novel, as well as a repetition of the most important tools and concepts of literary analysis, and will give you an opportunity to hone your narratological skills. It will also provide an introduction into feminist literary criticism and key concepts of gender studies.
We will read two novels in this class, and discuss some further examples (you are welcome to also make suggestions). Please get your own copy of these novels before the beginning of term.
Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret (1865)
Sarah Waters, Fingersmith (2002)
Further reading will be made available during the semester.