Literature of English-speaking Countries - Modulo 2 (2007/2008)

Learning outcomes

The course aims at providing students with a general introduction to the main themes and theories of the discipline, through critical reading and analysis of selected colonial and postcolonial literary texts.

An historical and theoretical introduction to the subject will be followed by the critical reading, in a wider diachronic perspective and with reference to more significant texts, of four exemplary novels in the passage from colonial to postcolonial literature.
The course will then explore the peculiar features of the Australian short story by focusing on some of the most significant examples in the field with a particular, but not exclusive, attention to women’s approach.

MODULE 2 ECTS 3: 24hrs (A. Pes)
The Australian short story

Primary Texts
- Henry Lawson, selected stories from While the Billy Boils (1896) e Joe Wilson and His Mates (1901)
- Barbara Baynton, selected stories from Bush Studies (1902)
- Katharine S. Prichard, selected stories from Happiness (1967)
- Marjorie Barnard, selected stories from The Persimmon Tree and Other Stories (1943)
- Patrick White, selected stories from The Burnt Ones (1964) e The Cockatoos (1974)
- Kate Grenville, selected stories from Bearded Ladies (1984)
- Barbara Hanrahan, selected stories from Dream People (1987)

A complete list of the short stories in programme will be provided with at the beginning of the course.

Critical Works
- B. Bennett, Australian Short Fiction: a History, UQP, 2002 (cap. 1 e parti sugli autori in programma)
- K. Goldsworthy, “Short Fiction”, ALS, vol. 13, n. 4, Oct. 1988, pp. 535-46
- E. Webby, “Short Fiction” (Australia) in Benson, Connolly (eds), Encyclopaedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English, London, Routledge, 1994, pp. 1455-59
- M. Wilding, “The Modern Australian Short Story” in Harris, Webby (eds.), Reconnoitres. Essays in Australian Literature in Honour of G.A. Wilkes, Melbourne, OUP, 1992, pp. 168-74
- L. Hergenhan (ed.), The Australian Short Story Collection: 1880s-1990s, UQP, 1997 (Introduzione)

Further references and critical readings will be recommended during the course.
Both primary texts and critical works can be found at Frinzi library.

REQUIREMENTS
It is recommended to attend lectures after passing English Language (1° year).
Students unable to attend lectures are required to get in touch with the teachers before preparing for the exam.
EXAM PROCEDURE
Viva