Lecturer: Dr. Angel Igov

[EN below]Курсът цели да запознае студентите с тези тенденции в съвременния британски роман, които са свързани с общия интелектуален климат на постмодернизма в западния свят. Специфичната британска рецепция на постмодерните нагласи и разбирания ще бъде очертана с разглеждане на конкретни автори и произведения от началото на 60-те години на ХХ в. до наши дни: Джон Фаулз, Анджела Картър, Иън Макюън и др. Сред обсъжданите теми са относителността и множествеността на гледните точки, деконструкцията на класическото романово повествование, метафикционалността, новите подходи към историческото писане, постколониалните перспективи, ребилитацията на маргинализирани гласове, пренаписването на канонични наративи. Допълнителна перпектива към литературните произведения ще бъде подадена от филмовите адаптации на определени романи.

Студентите ще придобият богата представа за разнообразието на съвременния британски роман в контекста на постмодернизма и ще задълбочат познанията си за постмодерната мисъл. Прецизният прочит на конкретни произведения ще развие уменията им за аналитично четене и литературоведска интерпретация. Ще бъде насърчено аналитичното разбиране за особеностите при филмовата адаптация на литературни произведения.

The course aims to introduce students to those tendencies in the contemporary British novel related to the general mental climate of postmodernism in the West. The specific British reception of postmodern attitudes is traced through the discussion of particular authors and works from the 1960s to this day: John Fowles, Angela Carter, Ian McEwan, etc. Topics feature the relativity and multiplicity of viewpoints, the deconstruction of traditional novel narrative, metafictionality, new approaches to historical writing, postcolonial perspectives, the acknowledgement of marginalized voices, and the rewriting of canonical narratives. Additional perspectives are provided by the film adaptations of particular novels.

Students will form an extensive picture of the contemporary British novel's variety in the context of postmodernism, and will enhance their understanding of postmodern thought. Analytic thinking about peculiarities in the film adaptation of literary works is encouraged.

In the words of Jacques Derrida, „literature … stands on the edge of everything, almost beyond everything, including itself. It's the most interesting thing in the world, maybe more interesting than the world, and this is why, if it has no definition, what is heralded and refused under the name of literature cannot be identified with any other discourse. It will never be scientific, philosophical, conversational.”

Despite literature’s resistance to its identification with any other field, literary works inevitably communicate, in no matter how sophisticated a form, with their reader.

This course aims to familiarize students with four major strands in communication theory which are related to the peculiar field of literature and literary studies.

The introductory presentations/lectures/materials will set the theoretical background for analytical readings of specific literary texts in different genres: fiction, poetry, drama etc. Most of the activities in the course will be practically oriented. Students will be expected to approach literary texts from different perspectives in a series of short written responses as well as participate in online debates and discussions based on tasks assigned by the instructor.

OutlineThe objective of the course is to give the students an in-depth knowledge of the vastly growing field of intercultural communication and help them become competent in dealing with various issues that may arise in the interaction between people of different cultures. The theoretical premises of studying and understanding cultures will be used to offer students ways of coping with the challenge of working and doing research within foreign cultural environments.