Key facts

Type	Weekly Classes
Location	Milton Keynes
Address	York House Centre London Rd Stony Stratford Milton Keynes MK11 1JQ
Dates	Thu 4 Oct to Thu 6 Dec 2012 Day: Thursday Time of meeting: 10am-12noon Number of meetings: 10
Subject area(s)	Literature
CATS points	10
Fees	From £165.00
Application status	Course ended
Course code	O12P848LTW
Course contact	If you have any questions about this course, please email ppweekly@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Overview

Literature about the struggles of people to find different kinds of freedom. The course includes Orwell's 'Animal Farm', Ibsen's 'Ghosts'. Hilary Mantel's 'An Experiment in Love', poetry on 'Self' and Turgenev's touching and profound 'Fathers and Sons'

Description

Literature is often concerned with the struggles of people to find different kinds of freedom. But most novels, plays and poems explore the dilemmas of individuals with complex emotional lives in which ‘freedom’ is not easy to isolate from other desires. So we begin with Orwell's ‘Animal Farm’ (1945), a comic satire on revolutions by the oppressed (in this case, pigs). Then we discuss Ibsen's play, ‘Ghosts’ (1881), an exposure of the terrible price paid for clinging to ‘respectability’ rather than ‘freedom’. These are followed by Hilary Mantel's novel, 'An Experiment in Love' (1995), about students struggling with intense private obsessions; Anne Stevenson’s wonderful and witty poems on being trapped in loving families; and Turgenev's ‘Fathers and Sons’ (1861), a touching and profound novel of would-be revolutionaries. Some copies of the texts will be in the class book box but do get hold of your own copies if you can. Students should try to read ‘Animal Farm’ before the class starts.

Programme details

The books will be read in the following order:

George Orwell, Animal Farm (Many editions.)
Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts (Several translations. World’s Classics OUP is fine)
Hilary Mantel, An Experiment in Love (Fourth Estate)
Anne Stevenson, Selected poems (Bloodaxe books)
Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons (Penguin, translated by Carson is recommended)

It would be helpful if you could read Animal Farm before the class starts.

Staff

Course aims

Course Aim:
To read some great works of literature concerned with people struggling towards a greater freedom

Course Objectives:
1. to examine issues of freedom as explored in literature
2. to look at complex emotional lives in which abstractions such as 'freedom' have to exist
3. to enjoy different literary genres: novels, satire, plays, poetry

Assessment methods

Reading the satire, the play, the poetry and the novels with care is part of the assessment. Being willing to comment on the reading is essential. As they build up their knowledge and understanding of these writers, students will be expected to complete some written work each term, either by writing an essay, or shorter pieces such as reviews or commentaries, or by tackling some controversial and entertaining questions. Students’ own ideas for assessment will be considered..

Teaching methods

Students should try to read the set works before they are discussed in class. Each work will be discussed in detail, and will be used to point up controversial issues, experimental techniques and varied notions of Freedom. For each work the tutor will provide contextual information but the emphasis will be on group discussion and enjoyment.

Teaching outcomes

Students should:
be able to understand and enjoy varied works of literature;
be able to discuss different concepts of freedom as applied to human individuals;
have acquired much useful information about pigs, duels, inheritance, illicit gold and skeletons.

Fee options

Programme Fee

EU Fee: £165.00

Non-EU Fee: £165.00

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