Course for international guest/part time students
- Faculty
- Faculty of Humanities
- Organization
- BTK Department of English Studies
- Code
- BMI-ANGD17-CI9aE.10
- Title
- Modern Fiction - Foundations and Perspectives: The City in Literature
- Usual semester
- Autumn
- ECTS
- 3
- Language
- Learning outcomes
- The main aim of the course is to offer a comprehensive, though non-exhaustive, survey of the many different faces of cities as they are represented in contemporary literature. Students will also get acquainted with key concepts in urban studies through the reading of the set texts as well as through supplementary theoretical works.
- Course content
- During the course we are going to focus on literary representations of iconic cities (London, New York, Johannesburg, etc.) in the works of Zadie Smith, Monica Ali, Teju Cole, Lauren Beukes and Ivan Vladislavic among others. Through these literary works we are also going to discuss key concepts in the theoretical writings of Michel de Certeau and Edward Soja, such as cosmopolitanism, flâneur, spatial justice and the difference between space and place.
- Assessment method
- The end mark is given based on in-class activity, a presentation, a home paper of cca. 7-8 pages and short (120-word) response papers about the compulsory readings.
- Bibliography
- Ali, Monica (2003). Brick Lane. Beukes, Lauren (2010). Zoo City. Cole, Teju (2011). Open City. Smith, Zadie (2012). NW. Vladislavic, Ivan (2006). Portrait with Keys.