Your introduction to the notion of ‘canon formation’ in year one will be reinforced. You will learn about the challenges to the Leavisite canon that were mounted in the latter half of the twentieth century. The early learning on the module will focus on the role of the author, the ‘gap in the text,’ and reader responses to texts. You will subsequently engage with the work of one or more authors of imperial fiction and study their work within the context of the prevailing social and cultural climate within which their texts were produced. For example, you could study Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in the context of the romance and adventure tradition that preceded that novel and thus engage in an intertextual study of Conrad and Rider Haggard. You will then be introduced to subsequent literary works that have been influenced by the central text/s that they have studied. In this way, you will gain a historical overview of texts and their relationship with the time of their production and the influence of these texts within the literary community.

Upon completion of this module you will be able to

LO1: Express an awareness of the social and cultural context of literary texts
LO2: Extend your knowledge and understanding of the process of canon formation
LO3: Analyse aspects of the production and reception of literary texts
LO4: Differentiate between imperial romance and the anti-imperialist text
LO5: Comprehend the notion of ‘intertextuality’
LO6: Express a clear understanding of the impact of imperialism