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| Semester | fall semester 2024 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Thomas Manson (thomas.manson@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | The term 'English eerie' was popularized by Robert Macfarlane in a 2015 article for The Guardian newspaper. In it, he describes an emerging body of literature, art, music and film that “explores the English landscape in terms of its anomalies rather than its continuities, that is sceptical of comfortable notions of ‘dwelling’ and ‘belonging’, and of the packagings of the past as ‘heritage’, and that locates itself within a spectred rather than a sceptred isle” (“The eeriness of the English countryside”). In this vision of England, the folk customs of yesteryear continue to haunt the thickets and hedgerows. Rejecting the stable, pastoral image of an English countryside fortified by colonial exploit and rampant agrarian capitalism, these works instead present a fascination for all things eerie and 'wyrd'. Well-thumbed tarot decks. Dolmens and stone circles. Ancient ley lines stretching across time and space. Grotesque Yuletide rituals and intoxicating beverages. All lurking beneath England’s green and pleasant land. This seminar will chart the various literary and cultural iterations of the current folk zeitgeist. Beginning with the fin-de-siècle horror stories of Thomas Hardy and M. R. James, we will pick our way through the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. From the occult modernism of Ithell Colquhoun and Mary Butts through to 1970s ‘Folk Horror’ cinema and contemporary novels and plays, these works challenge our ideas around environmental politics, nationhood, Britain’s colonial past, and the possibility of enchantment in a disenchanted modernity. Ultimately our discussions will lead us to consider what constitutes this strange eeriness and why it refuses to go away. Macfarlane, Robert. “The eeriness of the English countryside.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Apr. 2015, www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/10/eeriness-english-countryside-robert-macfarlane. |
| Learning objectives | Students will gain an understanding of key critical and methodological approaches to folk culture (with a particular emphasis on theoretical work around hauntology and ecocriticism), refining their analytical skills as well their ability to apply theory and wider-historical sources to the texts in question. |
| Bibliography | Please purchase the following text: - Hope Mirrlees. "Lud-in-the-Mist". - Max Porter. “Lanny”. All other texts will be made available on ADAM. |
| Comments | This course will take an interdisciplinary approach, considering the works of artists, musicians and filmmakers alongside our chosen authors. For those who are interested, there will also be the opportunity to explore the topic of ‘folk culture’ through practice. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | It is strongly recommended that this course is taken only after the successful completion of the "Introduction I: Literary Studies" and "Introduction II: Literary Theory" proseminars. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Monday | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 16.09.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 23.09.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 30.09.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 07.10.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 14.10.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 21.10.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 28.10.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 04.11.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 11.11.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 18.11.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 25.11.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 02.12.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 09.12.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Monday 16.12.2024 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Raum 11 |
| Modules |
Modul: Introduction to Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular attendance, active participation and written assignment. |
| 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 |