Guide to the Foreign Literature Component
of the English Degree at York
for students arriving in 2016
Please read this document carefully…
Welcome to the Department of English and Related Literature at York. Foreign literature is an exciting and integral part of the degree at York. The University and the Department are committed to providing language tuition for all our undergraduates to prepare them to live, study and work in an international and multilingual world. This document is designed to explain the foreign literature component of your English degree and to guide you in making choices about which language you may need to study in Year 1. It is primarily aimed at single subject students, but there is also advice for combined course students. Not all students will need to take a language course in Year 1 – but we encourage you to make the most of the opportunity to do so. The document may look daunting but, as you will discover, it is easy to use and there is a checklist on p. 5.
Foreign Literature Pathways
There are two foreign literature pathways: 1) Literature and Language Modules (Lit/Langs) and 2) Foreign Literature Modules (FLMs). The Lit/Lang pathway involves taking a 30-credit module in the Spring and Summer Terms in Year 2. The FLM pathway involves taking a 50-credit two-part module which is taught over the Spring and Summer Terms of Year 2 and the Autumn Term of Year 3. Modules in both pathways (Lit/Lang and FLM) are taught in English and essays are written in English. Texts are studied at least partly in the original language, and partly in translation; the relative proportions will vary from module to module.
This grid shows you how the language modulesfit into the whole course.
Single Subject English Course Outline 2016-19
Autumn term
/ Credits /Spring term
/ Credits / Summer term / CreditsYEAR ONE
Approaches to Literature: Medieval to Modern
/ 20 /Global Literature
/ 20 / TWO Topic Modules / 10Translations
/ 20 /Victorian Literature
/ 20 / 10Key Concepts
/ 20Optional LFA study (extra-curricular)
YEAR TWO
ONEPeriod Module / 20 / EITHER a Literature and Language (Lit/Lang) ModuleOR
Part I of a Foreign Literature Module (FLM) / 30
EITHER a Special Module OR a second Period Module / 20 / ONE Period Module / 20 / ONE Topic Module / 10
Critical Questions
/ 20YEAR THREE
ONE Special Module / 20 / ONE Special Module / 20ONE Special Module
OR
Part II of a Foreign Literature Module / 220 / ONE Special Module / 220
Dissertation / 440
The programme is very flexible, enabling students with a range of qualifications to take either pathway. Which pathway you take is up to you, although in some cases your choice may depend on the language learning you did while still at school. We encourage you to follow the pathway and the language that seems most interesting to you! This might entail continuing witha language you studied at GCSE or A Level. Or you might want to start a new language, studying it in either the Lit/Lang or FLM pathway. If you don’t have a GCSE, don’t worry at all – you will be able to prepare for and choose from a range of options in both pathways. Subject to timetabling constraints, and having fulfilled the prerequisites, you can change your choice of Lit/Lang or FLM up to the end of Autumn Term in Year 2, so you’re not making an irrevocable choice at this early stage.
Language Teaching in Year 1
Depending on your language qualifications and the Lit/Lang or FLM you are thinking of taking, you may need totake a preparatory language coursein Year 1. This teaching takes place in the university’s language teaching centre – Languages For All (LFA). At this stage, you do not need to sign up for the Lit/Lang or FLM that you will take in Year 2, but you may need to sign up for a Year 1 LFA course that will get you there. This means that you do need to think ahead to what Lit/Lang or FLM you will want to take in Year 2. Again, don’t worry about making the wrong decision – there should be opportunities to switch LFA courses after you get here. There will be a ‘Question and Answer’ session about languages in Week 1 of the Autumn Term and a Foreign Literatures Fair (where you can meet individual tutors and discuss modules) in Week 3.
How to Figure Out Which LFA Course is Right for You – and Sign Up for It
The document below will help you decide which Lit/Lang or FLM to choose and what LFA teaching you might need to take, as a prerequisite, in Year 1. Pages 6-11 contain descriptions of all the Lit/Langs and FLMs. Identify which ones interest you the most and then go to pages 12-22. There you will find the prerequisites listed according to which language qualification(s) you may have. Just find your qualification(s) and you will find out what (if anything) you need to study in Year 1.
Once you have discovered if you need or want to take a language course in Year 1, go to the LFA website ( )to check their levels and look at course outlines. You should sign up for the 19-week general LFA programme (not one of the shorter courses). These courses are offered at several levels:Level 1 – beginners;Level 1 PLUS – suitable if you have basic skills in the language concerned or have completed a beginner’s course;Level 2 – intermediate (if you possess a GCSE or 2-3 years of previous study);Level 2 PLUS – higher intermediate(if you possess an AS Level or equivalent);Level 3 – advanced (if you possess an A Level or equivalent).
To sign up for an LFA course go to:
If you need to study at LFA in Year 1, in preparation for your preferred Lit/Lang or FLM, SIGN UP NOW. Registration begins at the start of Septemberand places are allotted on a first come, first serve basis.
Why Are There Some Restrictions on Which Modules I Can Take?
In reading the document, you will find there are some restrictions. As a general rule, where the language concerned is one that is studied at school, Lit/Langs are pitched at a lower level from FLMs, with a target audience of beginners or those with a GCSE; and so (to ensure equity between students and modules) such Lit/Langs are not available to students who already possess an AS Level or higher in the language. So, for example, you cannot take the Lit/Lang module on Post-War French Culture if you have an AS or A Level in French, since this course has been designed for beginners or those with a GCSE; but the French FLMs in Symbolism and Camus are both available to you. These restrictions (and the others listed below) all have a good pedagogical basis, enabling us to meet the needs of a range of students, and to ensure both opportunity and equity between students with different levels of prior language competence. However, if you’re willing to work hard (and study the relevant language in Year 1), you can take any of the FLMs, regardless of your previous language qualification.
If you have any queries about your qualifications or language competence,please contact the English Department’s Foreign Literatures Co-ordinator, Dr Matthew Townend (e-mail: ), to discuss your choices.
Combined Course Students
Combined course students do not have to take a Lit/Lang or an FLM, but you are very welcome to do so. If you think you might want to do this, please sign up for the appropriate LFA course at the start of September. Again, don’t worry – you can always change your mind later.
Cost
There is no cost for taking a Year 1 course at LFA: the University of York is committed to providing a year of free language teaching for any undergraduate who wants it.
Final Words
As noted above, an LFA course is free for all undergraduates at York. We encourage you to take a language course – whether or not you have to – to maintain your language skills or to open up new opportunities. Don’t forget that you may need to take an LFA course in Year 1 to prepare and qualify for your Lit/Lang or FLM: if you need to do so, and don’t complete the course (and pass the assessment), then you will be unable to take the Lit/Lang or FLM concerned.
IN SUMMARY: If you are a single subject student, you MUST take either a Lit/Lang or an FLM in Year 2 as part of your English degree. Similarly, if you want to take your foreign literature module in a new language that you did not study at school (other than the medieval languages of Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse), you MUST take an LFA course in Year 1. Registration begins at the start of September.
Checklist1) Read this Guide.
2) Identify the Literature and Language Module orForeign Literature Module you would like to take. These are described on pp. 6-11.
3) In the qualifications tables (pp. 12-22), look up the foreign language qualification(s) you hold. Use the table to figure out if you need or want to take an LFA course in Year 1. Not everyone will need to take an LFA course in Year 1 – but we encourage you to take up this opportunity.
4) Go to the LFA website and identify the right course to take. Then sign up for it: .
5) For further information and advice, contact the English Department’s Foreign Literatures Co-ordinator, Dr Matthew Townend (e-mail: ).
6) Once the academic year has started, attend the LFA course you have chosen, complete the assignments and assessments, and take the final exam.
7) If you encounter any difficulties with your language study during the year, contact Dr Matthew Townend () or your supervisor. They will both be happy to discuss your progress with you.
Catalogue of
Literature and Language Modules (Lit/Langs)
and
Foreign Literature Modules (FLMs)
Literature and Language Modules (Lit/Langs)
Anglo-Saxon Module
Anglo-Saxon: Conquest, Conversion, Assimilation
Ne wearðwæl mareNever was there a greater slaughter
onþiseiglande æfregietaon this island until now
folcesgefylled beforanþissumof people killed before this
sweordesecgum, þæsþe us secgaðbec,by the sword’s edge, as books tell us,
ealdeuðwitan, siþþaneastan hiderancient witnesses, since from the east
Engle ondSeaxe up becoman,the Angles and Saxons arrived here,
ofer brad brimu Brytenesohtan,over the broad seas to seek Britain,
wlancewigsmiþas, Weallesofercomon,proud warmongers, they overcame the Welsh,
eorlasarhwate eardbegeatan.noble warriors, eager for glory, they conquered the country.
The Battle of Brunanburh, 937 A.D.
The Anglo-Saxons were amongst the very earliest Europeans to write in their own language, English, rather than only in Latin. This radical recognition of the value of the written vernacular word marks the literature of the Anglo-Saxons from their arrival in Britain in the 400s to the Norman Conquest (1066). The study of Anglo-Saxon (or Old English) literature thus provides a distinctive perspective on the interactions between the Roman, Germanic, Scandinavian and Celtic cultures which shaped identities across northwestern Europe in this period.
This module will focus on the role literary culture played in the contest for dominion over Britain (in which the Anglo-Saxons, the British, the Vikings and the Normans all took part), in the process of Christianization and in the forging of a united English kingdom. Writing came to the Anglo-Saxons with Christianity: Old English poems like The Dream of the Rood and Exodus and Latin texts like Bede’s Historyparticipate in the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons and also reveal the counter-influence of Germanic culture on Christianity. The written vernacular simultaneously preserved heroic poems from the legendary Germanic past, such asBeowulf, and enabled the production of the first European vernacular romance. Vikings were both resisted and assimilated by the emerging English nation, a duality which left its mark on battle poetry and preaching. Alongside poetry and other genres, history-writing in English (the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and Latin (the Life of King Alfred) shows how kings actively used literary culture to create a sense of Englishness.
Extracts will be read in Old English, and full texts studied in translation. Latin texts will be read entirely in translation.
French Module
Post-War French Culture 1944-1968
Quoi qu’ilarrivât après, rien ne m’arracheraitces instants; rien ne me les aarrachés. Ilsbrillentdans mon passé avec un éclat qui ne s’estjamaisdementi.
Whatever happened in later years, nothing would ever equal thatmoment. And nothing ever has. The Liberation will always be the defining moment of my life.
As Simone de Beauvoir recorded, the Liberation of Paris in August 1944 created an excitement that was not diminished by the difficult years of reconstruction that followed. Indeed, you can still feel the buzz today, in an extraordinary legacy of intellectual innovation that dominates every area of contemporary critical practice. The study of literature is inconceivable without French theory, modern cinema unimaginable without the Nouvelle Vague. In this module, we will study a wide range of texts from key moments from 1944 to the riots of May 1968 - films; novels; poetry; drama; theory; philosophy; politics; autobiography – and discuss the language, ideas, forms and techniques that gave shape to this remarkable period of cultural history.
In previous years, the following items have been included in the programme: films by Alain Resnais, Jean-Luc Godard, GilloPontecorvo and Luis Bunuel;chansons by Charles Trenet and Georges Brassens; novels by Marguerite Duras, Irene Nemirovsky and Albert Camus; and texts by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Georges Perec, Claude Levi-Strauss, Guy Debord, and Roland Barthes.
Italian Module
Post-War Italian Cinema
Italian cinema after the Second World War entered a golden age. Directors such as Rosselini, Fellini, Pasolini, Visconti,and Antonioni pioneered radically new forms of cinema that swept the world with their innovative power. This module surveys this extraordinary moment, situating it in the appropriate Italian and international contexts. It begins with neo-realism, the movement that first attracted international attention. Then, turning to Lucchino Visconti, it traces how he evolved from neo-realist extremism to sumptuous extravaganza. After Visconti, it turns to Federico Fellini, who rejected neo-realism from the beginning, and instead focussed on dreams versus reality, fantasy versus austerity. Thereafter, it turns to the tradition of dissident directors which includes Pasolini, Antonioni, and the legendary Bernardo Bertolucci. It concludes with Paolo Sorrentino, who co-authored and directed the recent international hit, The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza: winner of the 2014 Oscar, Bafta, and Golden Globe awards for best foreign film).Key themes for the module include: post-war politics, aesthetics, formal experimentation, and the erotic.
Latin Module
The Golden Age of Latin Literature
To learn some Latin is a very great asset indeed for anyone studying English Literature. English owes much of its vocabulary to Latin, while research shows that learning Latin improves understanding of English and the quality of one's own writing. Study of Latin was the basis of school education from the Middle Ages until 1918, while the great Roman writers exerted an unparalleled influence on English literature and culture of all periods.
This module has two main objectives. The first is to allow students to improve further their ability to translate and analyse texts in Latin. The second is to enable them to explore something of the history and character of the Latin literature of the late Republic and the principate of Augustus, a period subsequently often called 'The Golden Age' because of the quality of the writings produced in it. Cicero and Caesar established the 'classic' style for Latin prose that constituted a norm for future centuries, sometimes to be imitated, sometimes reacted against. Great poets included Catullus, Lucretius, and Horace, while the two most influential of all Latin poems, Virgil's Aeneid (surely the most profound poem about empire ever written) and Ovid's Metamorphoses, sometimes called the Bible of poets and artists, belong to this period. Sallust (Milton's favourite historian) and Livy wrote important histories. Connections, where appropriate, will be made with some of the English writings these works have influenced.
Time will be divided between reading passages in Latin while revising, and extending knowledge of, grammar and syntax, and discussing wider issues about Latin literature and its reception in English. As well as preparing manageable passages for translation and comment (with the help of commentaries) students will be expected to read in English works by the writers studied. Classical literature, as stated above, not only provides a fascinating insight into the ancient world, but also heavily influenced authors from medieval times to the twenty-first century.Consequently, this module also helps to provide a useful platform for further undergraduate and postgraduate study across all periods.
Foreign Literature Modules (FLMs)
French Modules
Symbolism
This module introduces you to some of the most interesting (and in some ways, difficult) poetry of nineteenth-century France. The poets who participated in the movement loosely called ‘symbolism’ were enormously influential in their time and their work, both in terms of practice and theory, continued to influence poetry and the other arts well into the twentieth century. The work of the symbolists generally is accepted as one of the essential pathways to a knowledge of modern literature, and, more widely, of the modern artistic consciousness. The module begins with Baudelaire. The publication of his Fleurs du mal in 1861 is often taken as the beginning of modern poetry in Europe. We then look at the poetry of Verlaine, Rimbaud, and Mallarmé. Seminars will consider such questions as the changing conception of the poet’s role, poetry and the city, sexuality (both heterosexual and homosexual), the poet as visionary, the Modern, and the relations between poetry, painting, and music.