This course introduces students to a range of Nobel Prize winning writers and their respective novels, with the aim of considering different nationalities of literature as well as the social and political climates in which these novels were written. We will consider Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun's 'Pan', American writer Sinclair Lewis's 'It Can't Happen Here', Japanese writer Kenzaburo Oe's 'The Silent Cry', German writer Heinrich Boll's 'The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum', and Portuguese writer Jose Saramago's 'Blindness'. These novels have been chosen to represent a range of cultures as well as a broad spectrum of literature published over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries for which the Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded.
Course aim
This course introduces students to a range of Nobel Prize winning writers and their respective novels, with the aim of considering different nationalities of literature as well as the social and political climates in which these novels were written.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- This course is for beginners and improvers
- A copy of the set texts
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the social and political climates in which these novels were written.
- Illustrate knowledge of the lives and literary styles of the novelists considered on the course.
- Consider the historical impact of these texts on different societies and cultures.
- Develop your own interpretations and ideas about the set novels.
What else do I need to know?
A copy of the set texts.
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