Department of English Undergraduate
English 1
The first-year course (English 111 and English 121) introduces students to a variety of genres, topics, and historical or geographical emphases in world literature in English, including texts from southern Africa. The aim of the course is to present a sense of the diversity of forms and topics in English literary studies, and to introduce students to methods of close reading, writing, and debate.The English 111/121 Course Reader will be your guide and companion for the whole year. This is available at Printwize, which is located in the Student Centre. In addition, make sure that you have a copy of each of the following books, and that you have read them before the relevant lectures begin. The prescribed dictionary will be an invaluable reference throughout the year. These are major modules worth 15 credits each.
Required throughout the year:
- English 111/121 Course Reader (Available from Printwize)
- Compact Oxford English Dictionary for Students (O.U.P) ISBN: 978-0-19-929625-5
- Romesh Gunesekera Reef
- Nadia Davids At Her Feet
- Poetry and short stories available in the course reader.
- William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet
- Tsitsi Dangarembga Nervous Conditions
- Zoë Wicomb Playing in the Light
- Poetry and short stories available in the course reader.
English 106
What is English 106 all about?
English 106 is an intensive English course which is only offered in the second semester. The course focuses on both English literature and academic literacy. The course work centres on poems, short stories and interesting news and current affairs articles, but you will also learn about academic writing, critical reading and proper language usage.The one aim of the course is to engage students with literature and the world around them by encouraging an open-minded attitude, curiosity and critical thinking. The other aim is to prepare students for the requirements of academic writing and introduce them to key literary concepts and skills that they will need as well-rounded and successful university scholars.
Why is English 106 for you?
Students who want to do English as one of their subjects, but who do not yet feel prepared for a full literature course start with English 106 in the second semester and transition to English 1 if they do well.Students who want to learn more about literature and students who want to improve their academic literacy skills are all welcome!
Humanities 111
Humanities is an interdisciplinary course, hosted by the departments of English (semester 1 HUM111) and History (semester 2 HUM121). In the first semester it combines approaches associated with the subject disciplines of history, literary studies and philosophy to ask questions such as, What does it mean to be human? How does knowledge change over time? What is Justice? Each humanities module is worth 15 credits.What you can expect from this course?
- Throughout the first semester we use narratives that were produced at the time to provide an insight into how these concepts evolve. In the term one we explore a variety of ancient narratives that give an insight into some of the values and dilemmas associated with the shift from hunter-gatherer societies to urban cultures and kingdoms in Africa and the Near East. In the second term we draw on narratives by those who experienced trans-Atlantic slavery and its legacy first-hand to examine how the slave trade shaped and changed the way Africans identify themselves over time. We also look at how many elements of slavery are echoed in indentured labour markets today. Finally, we look at questions of race, culture and humanity through the lens of Frantz Fanon, who offers us a critical perspective on humanity and identity.
- While the focus this semester is on narrative perspective on 'being human' (as a verb) the material is contextualised historically and geographically. The course thus also enables us to explore how the past resonates with our daily lives.
English 2
For students in the second year of their degree, the English Department offers English studies across a range of geographies, periods, cultures and genres. Please note that the two major courses are worth 20 credits.Semester 1: ENG211 Africa and the World
- Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart
- Wole Soyinka The Lion and the Jewel
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Purple Hibiscus
- Course reader will be available online and physical copies will be made available for sale at Printwize.
Semester 2: ENG221 Romanticism and 19th Century Fiction
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth Lyrical Ballads
- Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
- Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights
- Course reader will be available online and physical copies will be made available for sale at Printwize.
Electives
10 creditsSemester 1: ENG223 Reading the Environment
Semester 2: ENG224 Film and Media Studies
English 3
For students in the third years of their BA studies, the English Department offers English as a major subject. The modules cover a wide range of topics in English literature, film and media studies, and the study of culture in different contexts.Please note that the two major courses in each year are worth 20 credits. The elective courses are worth 10 credits.
The following courses are offered:
Semester 1: ENG311 Renaissance Studies / ModernismThis course begins by exploring the English and European Renaissance, a period characterised by a range of new "discoveries" - scientific, philosophical and geographical - and how it has shaped us in present-day Africa, and in the modern world as a whole. We then consider the art and literature of the Modernist period, circa 1910-1939, in western Europe and north America. Modernism is a term which applies to the sense of newness and variety which was felt by artists and writers during this period, as well as the experience of trauma and alienation which often accompanied the radical social and technological changes of the early twentieth century. This section of the course pays particular attention to the ways in which "high" Modernism draws on Renaissance experiments with literary form in order to forge a language and a vision that reflects the sense of excitement, and as well as that of social fragmentation that modernist writers perceived in contemporary social life.
- Thomas More Utopia
- William Shakespeare Hamlet
- Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness
- Virginia Woolf Mrs Dalloway
- Zora Neale Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God
Semester 2: ENG321 Post-Colonial Literature and Postmodern Fiction
In this module students will explore aspects of postcolonial transformation in order to develop an understanding of cultural history and processes of change. We will also explore key theoretical ideas about contemporary postmodernist culture and examine a number of postmodern films and books. Here we also consider how postcolonial themes are reworked in a "postmodern" literary mode. The writers we consider employ textual strategies which foreground fictional "truths" (or indeed fictional questions) about the impact of historical conditions on consciousness, identity and storytelling.
- Arundhati Roy The God of Small Things
- Michael Ondaatje The English Patient
- J.M. Coetzee Foe
Electives
ENG323 Topics in Theatre and PerformanceThis course introduces students to the origins as well as the current context of theatre and performance. We will be looking at aspects of theatre and performance in relation to African as well as Western traditions and how these have evolved over time. Students will not only read plays, but will also be given opportunities to perform and visit various theatre productions.
- Billy Langa and Mahlatsi Mokgonyana Tswalo
- Monageng Motshabi The Red on the Rainbow
ENG331 Creative Writing
An intensive small-group creative writing class for English major students who wish to develop their creative writing in poetry or prose (short story). The numbers in this class are limited, and students who wish to enrol should contact the department and submit a portfolio of work.
