Back to selection
33369-01 - Proseminar: "Planting the Nation": The Garden in English Literature (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2013 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Daniela Keller (daniela.keller@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | It is considered that the English devote a fair amount of their time to cultivating gardens. Institutions, such as the Royal Horticultural Society, or various TV series on gardening, have managed to uphold the popularity of gardening (Egbert, 2006). However, gardening is more than just an activity. It has been part of English culture for centuries and a decisive component of 'Englishness'. It is an act of identification that is strongly intertwined with the land itself and, therefore, not only gains cultural but also topographical relevance. We will be discussing various literary depictions of gardens, mainly spanning the 20th century. Apart from the major texts, participants will be asked to read short stories by Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield, as well as poetry by Rudyard Kipling, Vita Sackville-West and others. The syllabus will briefly expand to the settler colony in Australia where gardens have been used conspicuously to build up a national identity or "plant the nation" (Whitehead, 2001). |
| Learning objectives | The participants will get to know various types of literary gardens and their cultural and historical context. They will learn to read the garden as an object and the activity of gardening as a constituent of national identity. |
| Bibliography | Please purchase - Frances Hodgson Burnett, “The Secret Garden” (1911, Norton Critical Edition) - Helen Humphreys, “The Lost Garden” (2002, Bloomsbury) - Julian Barnes, “England, England” (1998, Vintage) The books can be ordered at the "Labyrinth" bookstore (Nadelberg 17). Further material will be made available on ISIS. |
| Comments | It is recommended to read Frances Hodgson Burnett’s "The Secret Garden" during the semester break as it will be discussed towards the beginning of the term. |
| Weblink | ISIS |
| Admission requirements | Successful attendance of the first semester of a second-year proseminar in Literature and Culture Studies. |
| Course application | Enrol by email to alex.van-lierde@unibas.ch indicating your 1st and 2nd choice proseminar. The first 18 to enrol are guaranteed a place in the course of their 1st choice; others may be shifted to one of the other courses on offer. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul Refining Skills in Literature and Culture (Bachelor's degree subject: Englisch) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular attendance, active participation, presentation |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |