ENG1303 – British Literature
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The couse offers a broad introduction to British literature. Emphasis will be given to the distinctive characteristics of texts and the literary techniques employed in them. The texts will be studied in their literary-historical context.
To the extent that it is relevant, the texts will be studied in relation to their historical and social background.
Learning outcome
After completing this course, you:
- have an overview of developments, periods, and central writers in British literature (conceived broadly) from the medieval period to the present day,
- can analyse literary texts in a variety of genres,
- can express yourself in appropriate academic English,
- can write an assignment that engages in literary-critical interpretation.
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Lectures are open to the public. Seminar teaching requires admission to the course.
Recommended previous knowledge
The course assumes a good proficiency in written and oral English
Teaching
Lectures, 2 hours weekly for 12 weeks, and seminars, 2 hours weekly for 8 weeks. 40 hours in all.
An assignment of 5 standard pages (a standard page consists of 2,300 characters) submitted by a stated deadline.?References and bibliography come in addition. You will get written feedback on the assignment.?Read more here about rules concerning valid excuses and how to apply for postponements. Information about guidelines for obligatory activities.
It is obligatory to show up for a minimum of 60% of the teaching. In this course you have to attend 5 of 8 seminars. The requirement is absolute.
The allowed absence limit will cover all absences, including illness. You will not be granted valid absences with documentation, even when the absence is due to something beyond your control.
If the course has in-person teaching, and you are signed up for an in-person seminar group, you are to attend the teaching in the location found in the schedule.
If the course has digital teaching, and you are signed up for a digital seminar group, you must attend via Zoom with your camera on.
In certain circumstances, i.e. serious or chronic illness, you could apply for special needs accomodations.
All obligatory activities must be approved in the same semester for you to sit the exam. Once the course requirements have been fulfilled, they remain valid for the current and the next two semesters that the course is taught.
As a full-time student you are expected to spend at least 12 hours a week studying for this course.
In seminar weeks, 2 of those hours are spent in seminars with your seminar leader, 2 hours are spent attending lectures, and 8 hours are free for your own studies. In non-seminar weeks, 2 hours are spent attending lectures, and 10 hours are free for your own studies. You should be spending these hours reading, making notes on and reflecting on primary texts, exploring secondary texts and criticism, completing the assignments given by your seminar leader, and preparing to contribute your own viewpoints and ideas to seminar discussions. You may also want to spend some of this time working on your essay writing skills and discussing the course material with other students.
You are expected to come prepared to each seminar. This means that you have completed the assigned reading and any other assignments given by your seminar leader.
ENG1303 consists of lectures, in which you learn about some central aspects of each primary text and its historical, cultural and/or literary contexts, and seminars, which consist mainly of student-driven literary discussion. This means that while it is fine to prefer listening to talking, you should be prepared to contribute to discussions throughout the term. The more of your week you spend exploring the primary texts yourself (or in conversation with your fellow students), the more you will get out of the seminars.
ENG1303 requires you to study secondary literature on our primary texts, and to learn how to make use of it in your own written work. Over the course of the term, you should learn how to use the university library's resources, both physical and online, to find relevant secondary literature.
Examination
The form of assessment is a 4-hour written examination.
Examination support material
You are allowed to use 1 English-English dictionary on the exam.
A digital dictionary will be offered in the digital examination system Inspera.
Thesauruses and Encyclopedias are not allowed.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
The results from the exam will be found in StudentWeb within three weeks after the exam.
Resit an examination
If you?withdraw from the exam?after the deadline, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.