BA English Literature and American Studies

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This module starts from the premise that to write fiction about Britain in the twentieth century was also to write about the Empire. Though critics after the Second World War often wanted to quickly declare colonialism to be in the past, the major and long popular texts addressed here tell a different story. The module foregrounds postcolonial approaches to British fiction. Further, the treatment of race and colonialism is shown often to have involved issues of gender and sexuality. Looking at both shorter and long forms of fiction, the module also explores the relationship between formal innovation and colonialism. 

The aims of this course are: 

- to introduce students to key literature texts and issues from twentieth century Britain on the theme of colonialism; 

- to introduce students to the analysis of empire and postcolonial fiction;  

- to consider the formal and thematic innovations made by fiction writers.  

- to analyse the ways in which these  texts interact with their cultural and historical contexts; 

- to consider race, and also such issues as gender and sexuality, in relation to the literature and culture of this period; 

- to engage with selected critical writings on fiction and empire in the twentieth century; 

- to develop skills of critical thought, speech, and different styles of writing.  

The class will have a 1 hour lecture, and a 2 hour seminar. 

To support student learning and engagement there will be a Blackboard site with further reading and lecture slides etc for each teaching week. 

By the end of this course, students should be able to: 

- demonstrate a good familiarity with a range of fiction and their contexts relating to writing and Empire in the twentieth century; 

- demonstrate a critical understanding of writing in relation to Empire; 

- apply postcolonial approaches to literary texts 

By the end of this course, students should be able to: 

- identify and outline key problems and issues in British fiction and Empire of the twentieth century; 

- reflect critically on fiction of the period discussed; 

- evaluate critical arguments advanced by critics on writers, especially from a postcolonial perspective.  

- make good use of library, electronic, and online resources pertaining to the course;

- speak and write clearly about British fiction and Empire in the period of the module;

- write a blog post conveying an intervention in an area relating to the module 
           

- retrieve, sift, organise, synthesise and critically evaluate material from a range of different sources, including library, electronic, and online resources;

- produce written work using appropriate language for an academic audience;

- to write an academic blog post

- demonstrate the ability to improve one’s own learning through critical reflection, evaluation, good time management.

Blog post (formative and summative): Numerical grade and written comments within 15 working days (as defined by Faculty). Available to discuss feedback in office hours.

Coursework essay (summative): Numerical grades and written feedback to be made available to the timeline for the release of marks and feedback at the end of the semester. Available to discuss feedback. 

Howard J. Booth and Nigel Rigby, eds., Modernism and Empire (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000).

Jed Esty, A Shrinking Island: Modernism and National Culture in England (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003)

John McLeod, Postcolonial London: Rewriting the Metropolis (London: Routledge, 2004)

Graham MacPhee, Postwar British Literature and Postcolonial Studies (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011).

Len Platt, ed., Modernism and Race (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011).

Robert Spencer, Howard J. Booth and Anastasia Valassopoulos, British Writing from Empire to Brexit: Writing, Identity and Nation (London: Routledge, 2025)

Matthew Whittle, Post-War British Literature and the ‘End of Empire’ (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017)