Spring 2005

T C 357 • Envisioning England: 20th C. Literature and Film—W

Course Description

This course surveys ethnic, immigrant, gay and lesbian, and working-class aesthetic and political traditions in post-war and contemporary British Literature and film. A number of the works are concerned with heritage and post-imperial legacies, history and memory, the politics of place, representations of landscapes, the immigrant experience, class, and the intricacies, complexities, and contradictions of national and personal identity. We will be examining literature and films in the political contexts of the late 1950's through the 1990's. The literatures and films will be analyzed through the theoretical and critical frameworks of Modernism, Post-Structuralism, Cultural, and Post-Colonial Studies.

About the Professor Mia Carter is an Associate Professor in the Department of English. Her fields of specialization are 20th Century British and Post-Colonial Literatures, Film, and Ethnic and Women’s Studies. Mia is a passionate sculler; she is also a great fan of food, lush and lively prose, and tough girl/gal movies (favs: John Cassevetes’ Gloria and Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita). Dr. Carter has been the recipient of the Liberal Arts College Teacher of the Year Award, the Jean Holloway Award for Excellence in Teaching, Plan II’s Chad Oliver Award, and the Chancellor's Council Teaching Award. She is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers.

Grading Policy

This course contains a substantial writing component. Two 8-10 page papers: 30% One 2-3 page critical review of British film: 10% Consistently active, substantial, and significant class participation: 30%

Texts

D. H. Lawrence, Women in Love Raymond Williams, The Country and the City Carolyn Steedman, Landscape for a Good Woman Sam Selvon, The Lonely Londoners Allan Sillitoe, The Loneliness of A Long Distance Runner V. S. Naipaul, The Enigma of Arrival Allan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library Monica Ali, Brick Lane Selected critical essays, including selections from David Lowenthal’s The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History, Eric Howsbawm and Terence Ranger’s The Invention of Tradition, and Raphael Samuel’s Theatres of Memory Films: Jack Clayton, Room at the Top (1959) Karel Reisz, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) Tony Richardson, A Taste of Honey (1961) Ken Russell, Women in Love (1969) Derek Jarman, The Last of England (1987) Stephen Frears, While London is Burning, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1988) Michael Apted, 28-Up (1991) and 35-Up (1997) Patrick Keiller, London (1993) Terence Davies, Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) Udayan Prashad, Brothers in Trouble (1997) Mike Leigh, Vera Drake (2004)

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