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Students acquire insight into the literary works discussed and into the process of cultural memory; they hone their abilities to conduct independent research, to report on this research in speech and writing, and to present their text in academic format.
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Britain is remarkably successful at marketing its cultural past, particularly its writers: apart from Shakespeare’s new Globe and a spate of Austen films, the Brontës, Dickens and Mrs Gaskell have become the focus of heritage industries, as have more recent authors or those born outside Britain, such as Wilde, Woolf and Joyce. Such cults may be commercial or borne from the enthusiasm of amateurs, such as bloggers or writers of fan fiction. Some have an international outreach: in the Netherlands, we have the annual amateur Shakespeare at Diever, the Deventer Dickens festival, and a local branch of the Jane Austen Society. Joyceans celebrate Bloomsday on 16 June.
In this course, we shall deal with some of these authors, and investigate how the modern age responds to them, in Britain and abroad. What aspects go into the construction of their cultural memory? For each author, our starting point is one of their works, read in light of its original context. After an exam, students investigate one aspect of the afterlives of these authors, in the forms of stagings, festivals, fan fiction, film versions, biopics, commemorations, etc., and give an oral presentation on their findings. Questions to be addressed include: how do these authors function in today’s society? What meanings are invested in them? Apart from nostalgia, are they also made to speak to contemporary issues?
Career orientation:
The course studies literary works and their afterlives, which is an important aspect of the workings of the modern literary marketplace. The research, presentation, and writing skills taught in this course are also relevant to the work field. Guest speakers in the parallel lecture seminar address related issues.
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