It is the aim of this course to help students understand the development of British literatures, from their very beginnings until today. A familiarity with influential authors and texts, as well as the ability to critically contextualise them, is the basis for all subsequent literary classes.After the Survey, students will be well equipped to work with British literatures, as they understand connections between authors, texts, and society.

Lecture and short in-class discussions of selected example texts.

This lecture will give students a condensed overview of British literatures, from the early Middle Ages to the 21st century. It will provide a deep historical and social context, as well as focus on a selection of signature authors and texts for each of the eras treated.Topics discussed are:Old English and Middle English literatureTudor and Stuart literatureRestoration and Augustan literatureRomantic poetry and proseThe Age of SagesVictorian poetry and novelLate Victorian literatureThe World Wars and ModernismNon- and PostmodernismsPost-Imperial literature, Genre fiction

All texts on the reading list are taken from the Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th edition (2012), available in our library.Students will not be expected to buy any additional material.

On campus, open-book digital multiple choice exam (SPU):Students are free to use any handwritten or printed materials and sources they wish to bring to the exam, but mobile devices (phones, tablets, smart watches...) will be collected at the beginning, so students cannot use the internet.An individual exam of 20 fully randomised multiple choice questions will be put together automatically for each student.Students have a maximum of 45min to submit their filled in exam. It will be submitted automatically when exam time expires.The final grade depends directly on the number of correct answers:19 to 20 correct = 1A (First Grade)17 to 18 correct = 2B (Upper Second Grade)13 to 16 correct = 3C (Lower Second Grade)11 to 12 correct = 4D (Pass Grade)00 to 10 correct = 5F (Fail Grade)Registration for a specific exam sitting via ZEUS is compulsory. Students who fail to sign up in the system beforehand cannot participate in a sitting.Exam dates: Sitting 1 on June 24; Sitting 2 in Week 40, Sitting 3 in Week 42 (precise dates TBA).

Only material discussed in class will ever be part of the exam.

Exam questions ask students to reproduce information from the lecture and to make connections, contextualise, and critically reflect upon information.The use of AI support or AI-generated text/content is prohibited in all of my courses!In order to check whether this ban is respected, there is the possibility of a compulsory, individual, oral or written follow-up defence of submitted or presented work. Should the use of AI be detected in any assignment and a follow-up defence not be sufficient, the task concerned will automatically receive a fail-grade and your violation will be reported to university leadership, just as is the case with any other form of academic dishonesty or cheating.