Key facts

Type	Weekly Classes
Location	Oxford
Address	Ewert House Ewert Place Summertown Oxford
Dates	Wed 2 Oct to Wed 4 Dec 2013 Day: Wednesday Time of meeting: 7.00-9.00pm Number of meetings: 10
Subject area(s)	Literature
CATS points	10
Fees	From £175.00
Application status	Applications being accepted
Course code	O13P811LTW
Course contact	If you have any questions about this course, please email ppweekly@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Enrol online now!

to secure your place on this course now

Overview

Judging by the popularity of recent TV shows, the country house is as popular as ever. But before Downton Abbey, there were Mansfield Park, Brideshead and a host of others. This course will allow you to peer behind their porticoes.

Description

Judging by the popularity of recent TV shows, the country house is as popular as ever. But well before Downton Abbey, there was a long line of English and Anglo-Irish novels that used country house settings to examine the state of the nation, comment on social and political change, and sometimes comment on literary tradition itself.

This course will introduce you to some of this key fiction, including works by Jane Austen, Elizabeth Bowen, L.P. Hartley and Evelyn Waugh. As well as reading the novels, we will consider their place in the canon, and how other writers have responded to them. We will also examine some adaptations, and ponder why the country house novel and film still hold such appeal in the 21st Century.

Programme details

Week 1: Introduction: What exactly is a country-house novel?
Week 2: Jane Austen: Mansfield Park - Contexts and Approaches
Week 3: Jane Austen: Mansfield Park - Close Readings
Week 4: Elizabeth Bowen: The Last September - Contexts and Approaches
Week 5: Elizabeth Bowen: The Last September - Close Readings
Week 6: Evelyn Waugh: Brideshead Revisited - Contexts and Approaches
Week 7: Evelyn Waugh: Brideshead Revisited - Close Readings
Week 8: L.P.Hartley: The Go-Between - Contexts and Approaches
Week 9: L.P. Hartley: The Go-Between - Close Readings
Week 10: Recent examples of country house fiction + course overview

Background Reading:
Austen, Jane, Mansfield Park
Bowen, Elizabeth, The Last September
Hartley, L.P., The Go-Between
Waugh, Evelyn, Brideshead Revisited

Staff

Course aims

Course Aim:
To introduce and examine the key literary, social and historical contexts behind four great country house novels, through close reading and discussion.

Course Objectives:
1. To gain an understanding of the literary, historical and social context behind four great English / Anglo-Irish country house novels.
2. To develop close reading skills and learn key literary terms and approaches.
3. To share and discuss ideas in a class setting.

Assessment methods

Assessment will be by written assignment: one piece of 1000 words (worth ten credits) set in Week 7, selected from a range of questions. There will also be a short presentation at some point in the term.

Teaching methods

The classes will mostly involve group discussion, both in close reading and more general approaches to the novels. Primary texts must be read prior to the seminars, but some secondary sources and complementary extracts will be given to students in class to help situate and extend their reading. We will also be looking at some visual and cinematic representations alongside the texts.

Teaching outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to:
1. gain knowledge of a long tradition of British and Anglo-Irish writing;
2. become able to compare texts across periods and contexts; and
3. learn about the historical and social implications and applications of the country-house novel.

Libraries

Reading List .

Click above for full reading list.

Fee options

Programme Fee

EU Fee: £175.00

Non-EU Fee: £175.00

Apply for this course