British Literature II teaches students British Literature from approximately the age of the Industrial Revolution, i.e. the last decades of the 18th Century, up to the modern period. It aims to provide students with a solid grounding in British Romantic, Victorian, and Modern Literature and Thought. Students are introduced to the historical context of the literary pieces they are reading, including social, political, and cultural history. Students also study formal aspects of literature, including word choice, literary techniques, and style. Students are taught how to read critically and to discuss and evaluate the significance and contribution of literature to human civilization.

British Literature I aims to: 1. give students a good grounding in British Literature of, roughly speaking, the past two hundred years, and in doing so offer a window on the history and culture of the British Isles. 2. examine how and why British literature has achieved sucha prominent and influential position in world literature and global culture. 3. develop students’ability to analyze and interpret texts and otehr cultural media and foster critical thought.

The main course textbook is The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors (8th edition). The wide range of authors and texts included allows for some variation in the syllabus from year to year depending on the semester schedule and student interest. Generally, though, major authors such as, e.g., William Blake, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, P. B. Shelley, John Keats, Charles Dickens, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Mathew Arnold, Oscar Wilde, T. S. Eliot, Jean Rhys, and V. S. Naipaul, are covered.

Some examples of 19th and 20th century fiction; such as, e.g., Great Expectations or Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre, and Mr. Johnson (based on the novel by Joyce Carey); will be studied by means of handouts and film adaptations.

Additional texts and learning materials will be presented by means of handouts, Powerpoint presentations or the Tunghai MOODLE teaching / learning platform.