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ENGL 215-01, Focus on Literature, Fall 2007
Leslie, Michael
Leslie, Michael
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English, Department of, Syllabus, Curriculum, Academic departments, Text, 2007 Fall
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Abstract
“Empire” is a complex term, not least as it applies to that other complex entity, “Britain” (as opposed to
the simpler idea of “England”, for instance). This course will focus on literary texts composed during the
formation of both Britain and what came to be the British empire(s). We will examine the representation
and ideas of empire; different attitudes to English dominance in the British Isles; different responses to
the growth of English and British commercial dominance and territorial expansion; and both positive and
negative evaluations of the imperial project. The course will end by considering some of the literature of
the dissolution of Britain’s empire.
An integral part of this course will be participation in a series of events – lectures, presentations, movies,
discussions. Students enroll also in History 105: The British Empire and Its Enemies.
Two famous statements to consider by very different literary theorists:
“To the carrying out of the job [of cultural criticism] literature has a unique relevance . . . because
literature is the human activity that takes the fullest and most precise account of variousness,
possibility, complexity and difficulty”.
Lionel Trilling, The Liberal Imagination: Essays on Literature and Society (New York
1950), p. xv.
“Knowledge is coarse, life is subtle, and literature matters to us because it corrects this distance”.
Roland Barthes, Leçon [Inaugural Lecture at the Collège de France], Paris 1978.
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This syllabus was submitted to the Rhodes College Office of Academic Affairs by the course instructor.