ENGL 247

Spring 2021 All Classes

All Classes

The British Novel

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Credit: 3 hours.

A study of some of the more noteworthy and influential writers of the last two hundred and fifty years. The course traces the development of the novel as a genre that both celebrated and critiqued Britain and British nationalism. Examines how the novel has been important culturally over time.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Composition I requirement.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2022 for:

Humanities – Lit & Arts

Cultural Studies - Western

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ENGL 247 class schedule data for spring 2021
	CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
	32062	Online	S	12:30PM -1:45PM	TR	n.a.	Baron, I	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/25/21-05/05/21 Degree Notes: Humanities - Lit & Arts, and Cultural Studies - Western course. Section Info: English 247—The British Novel - The novel made its debut in Britain over a hundred years after it first appeared on the continent. But the little nation of Great Britain on the outskirts of Europe produced some of the most noteworthy and influential writers of the last three hundred years. In this course, we'll trace the development of the novel as a genre that both celebrated and critiqued British nationalism. We'll examine how the novel served as a vehicle to record and redefine the boundaries of a social order predicated on preserving noble bloodlines into a culture that produced the Industrial Revolution, The Beatles and the Welfare State. We'll start out with a look at the estate house as the defining icon of British patriarchy and class hierarchy in the Regency period. We'll discuss how the rise of the middle class was fomented through the spirit of British nationalism during the Napoleonic Wars and how British naval dominance catapulted this island-nation into creating a vast colonialist empire that expanded across the entire globe. Then we'll explore the rise of industrialization in the Midlands, focusing on how the paradigm of factory labor and ownership reconfigured British social and economic policies for decades to come. Next we'll examine how fiction functioned as a crucible for mandating radical reform movements in the UK such as feminism, socialism and environmentalism. As we move into the modern and postmodern periods, we'll see how the two global wars served as the catalysts to dismantle the conservative values inherent in British society. We’ll explore the Windrush generation and the impact that immigration has had on making Britain a more diverse nation and how this, in turn, has led to the rise of white extremist groups and political parties such as UKIP. And finally, we’ll examine the Brexit referendum and Covid, and how they have altered the national consciousness. We’ll see whether the future of Britain resides in a broader social and racial demographic or in a dystopic future ruled by the elite. Requirements for the class include 3-4 papers. Regular class attendance and participation are expected. Texts and films may include: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Howards End, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Brideshead Revisited, The Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Skyfall.