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At the undergraduate level, the programme offers the BA in Literatures in English. Students who entered prior to academic year 2003-2004 do a Major in Literatures in English by completing a minimum of sixteen (16) courses. Students who enter from academic year 2003-2004 either do a Major in Literatures in English by completing a minimum of twelve (12) courses or do a Special by completing a minimum of eighteen (18) courses. In each case, these courses must be selected according to the guidelines indicated.
The term Literatures in English implies that our focus is on a wide variety of Anglophone literatures and not just English Literature. As a result, at all three campuses of UWI, undergraduate courses in West Indian, African, and African American literatures are taught alongside courses in canonical British and American literature for comparative purposes. The reason for this is that while our curriculum at UWI understandably emphasises West Indian, African, and other diasporic Post-colonial literatures, it is also designed to ensure that students acquire competence in an accepted core of canonical writers, major literary texts, periods, and movements considered indispensable to a grasp of the historical development of the discipline as a whole.
Moreover, although most of our courses, given our name, are devoted to the criticism of literature per se, we also offer courses in several related areas such as creative writing, drama and theatre arts, film studies, cultural studies, and critical theory.
PEDAGOGY
Our courses are sometimes historical / national in emphasis, sometimes generic, and often both. Prior to the university-wide process of semesterisation in the late eighties and early nineties, our courses were year-long in length, arranged according to historical periods and cultural provenance and multigeneric in nature. For example, year-long courses were offered in Renaissance, Nineteenth century, and West Indian literature which sought to expose students to samples drawn from each genre (poetry, prose, and drama). Today, all our courses are one semester long in length, unless otherwise indicated. A course such as E21B The Nineteenth Century Novel, for example, combines a historical / national focus (British literature of the nineteenth century) with a particular generic focus (the novel). Some courses such as E25A West Indian Literature I or E36A African Literature cover more than one genre.
Courses are examined via a mixture of oral presentations, course work essays, and written examinations. The guidelines required in the presentation of all course work are those of the Modern Language Association.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
Level I:
The Level I courses (i.e. all courses coded with a '1') in Literatures in English, E10A Introduction to Poetry, E10B Introduction to Prose Fiction, E10C Introduction to Drama, and E10E Introduction to Writing About Literature, are designed to serve as a foundation for the more advanced courses in literature offered at subsequent levels. They focus on introducing students to key examples of the three basic kinds of literature and to the basics of literary interpretation and criticism, not to specific national literatures. (The latter emphasis occurs at levels II and III of the programme.) Texts are accordingly chosen in each of these courses in order to introduce students, as far as possible, to one West Indian, one American, one modern, one pre-twentieth century text as well as, in the case of E10B, a collection of short stories (from any period / region). It should be noted that E10A devotes substantial attention to myriad examples of West Indian poetry, E10B devotes the majority of the semester to West Indian fiction (e.g. Olive Senior's short stories), and E10C pays considerable attention to West Indian drama. West Indian literature, in short, forms an integral part of the introduction to each of these genres.
In addition, at this level, students are exposed to important antecedents to Western literature: CL13A Classical Background to Western Literature I and CL13B Classical Background to Western Literature II introduce students to literature produced in ancient Greece and Rome during the 5th century BC. Seminal authors covered include Homer, Virgil, and Ovid, among others.
Level II / III:
At these levels, within the constraints imposed by available resources, we offer a variety of courses in West Indian, African, English, and American, including African American, literature. For understandable reasons, not all our courses can necessarily be offered every year.
At Level II (i.e. all courses coded with a '2'), the emphasis is on introducing students to both the established canon of West Indian literature and Anglophone literary history prior to the twentieth century, of which many of the authors are perforce British.
Almost all our students end up doing the two required courses in West Indian literature (E25A West Indian Literature I and E25B West Indian Literature II) which are at the core of our curriculum at this level, while many opt to also do E24C Caribbean Popular Culture. The programme offers (in conjunction with French) a survey course in African literature entitled African Literature in its Oral Context, which serves as a foundation for the advanced seminars in this area currently taught at Level III (see below), as well as several inter-disciplinary courses that focus on the colonial encounter. We also offer related courses in African American literature (E21R African American Fiction).
Students are also exposed at this level to key moments in the historical development of English literature: courses devoted to outstanding authors (e.g. E20E Chaucer, E20M Milton), Renaissance and Shakespearean theatre (E22C Shakespeare I: Histories and Comedies, E22D Shakespeare II: Tragedies and Romances, E22F Renaissance Drama) , Renaissance, Neoclassical and Romantic poetry (E20A Poetry I and E20B Poetry II), the so-called 'rise of the novel' in the eighteenth century (E21A Novel I), and its 'golden age' in the nineteenth century (E21B Novel II). Such a foundation is an indispensable pre-requisite for the study of diasporic and Post-colonial literatures, the writers of which are often thought to be heavily involved in the so-called process of 'writing back' to the canon. We also offer related survey courses in American literature such as E21Y The American Novel.
Students are also introduced at this level to the historical development of criticism from Plato to the early twentieth century (E23F History of Criticism) and schools of modern critical theory of particular relevance to the Caribbean (E23G Twentieth Century Literary Theory). Many who are creatively- or performatively-inclined also opt to do courses in creative writing (E26C Creative Writing: Poetry and E26D Creative Writing: Prose Fiction) and drama and theatre arts (E240 Drama and Theatre Arts).
At Level III (i.e. all courses coded with a '3'), the emphasis is on introducing students to twentieth century developments in Anglophone literature. To this end, through advanced seminars in these fields, we seek both to deepen students' knowledge of West Indian literature (E35A Advanced Seminar in West Indian Literature and E35B West Indian Literature: Special Author Seminar) and to introduce them to the complexities of African literature and film (E36A African Film I, E36B African Literature II, and E36C African Film). We also introduce students to modern(ist) and contemporary developments (E30A Modern Poetry, E31A Modern Prose Fiction, E30C Post-War Poetry, and E31B Contemporary Prose Fiction). Students may opt, too, to do advanced courses in contemporary critical theory (E33A Key Issues in Literary Criticism and E33D Post-Structuralisms and Post-colonialisms).
Last but not least, students are also required to register in their final year for RP300 Caribbean Studies (see the general requirements). The Caribbean Study, which is tantamount to an undergraduate thesis, consists in an extended research paper that must be written in the area of one's major. Most of our students accordingly end up writing on the subject of Caribbean literature and culture. To this end, student should note both the RP300 Guidelines for Students in Literatures in English and the list of approved substitutes in Literatures in English.
COURSES
Our courses in West Indian literature and culture presently include:
- E24C Caribbean Popular Culture,
- E25A West Indian Literature I,
- E25B West Indian Literature II,
- E35A Advanced Seminar in West Indian Literature,
- E35B West Indian Literature: Special Author.
Related inter-disciplinary courses include:
- AR27B African and Caribbean Women Writers,
- AR23A Literature and Ideology in the Caribbean, and
- AR23B Literature and the Colonial Encounter.
Our courses in African literature and culture presently include:
- African Literature in its Oral Context
- E36A African Literature I,
- E36B African Literature II, and
- E36C African Film.
The theme of these courses vary from year to year.
Our courses introducing students to the historical development of English literature and culture are arranged historically according to the following periods and
Medieval period (1100-1500):
- E20E Introduction to Chaucer
Renaissance (1500-1660): E20A Poetry I: Wyatt to Pope,
- E20M Introduction to Milton,
- E22C Shakespeare I: Comedies and Histories,
- E22D Shakespeare II: Tragedies and Romances,
- E22F Renaissance Drama
Neo-classical period (the Enlightenment) (1660-1785):
- E20A Poetry I: Wyatt to Pope,
Romantic period (1785-1830):
- E20B Poetry II: Romantics and Victorians:
- E21A Novel I: the Rise of the Novel
Victorian period (1830-1890):
- E20B Poetry II: Romantics and Victorians:
- E21B Novel II: the Nineteenth Century Novel
Modern(ist) period (1890-1945):
- E30A Modern Poetry,
- E31A Modern Prose Fiction
Contemporary period (1945- ):
- E30C Post-War Poetry,
- E31B Contemporary Prose Fiction.
Our courses in American (including African American) literature and culture presently include:
- E21P The Short Story in America,
- E21R African American Fiction,
- E21S American Women Writers, and
- E21Y The American Novel: a Survey.
American writers are also taught in
- E30A Modern Poetry,
- E30C Post-War Poetry, E31A Modern Prose Fiction, and
- E31B Contemporary Prose Fiction.
Our courses in Critical Theory presently include:
- E23F History of Literary Criticism,
- E23G Twentieth Century Literary Theory,
- E33A Key Issues in Literary Criticism, and
- E33D Post-Structuralisms and Post-Colonialisms.
Our courses in Creative Writing presently include:
- E26C Creative Writing: Poetry and
- E26D Creative Writing: Prose.
Our courses in Drama and Theatre Arts presently include, in addition to the courses on dramatic history (see above), a year-long course E240 Drama and Theatre Arts largely devoted to the practical side of theatre studies.
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