Dr Angus Wrenn, CMK. C614

For all undergraduate students as an outside option. Students can take this course in any year of their studies. This course will be capped at 24 students.

Although an A-level pass or equivalent in Literature is useful, it is not an absolute requirement (especially for General Course Students).

Comparative literature of the twentieth century leading up to and including the Cold War.  (a) Study of major authors (prose, poetry and drama, in English translation where relevant) on both sides of the Iron Curtain with a focus on the recurrent cultural themes: Fabianism; Utopia/Dystopia; Socialist Realism/Art with a Social Function; Cold War (b) Use of video-recording related to the texts (c) Several related trips to galleries and theatre productions during the year; (d) Students encouraged to draw upon background in their main discipline, and to read widely.

Two hours per week, featuring (a) Lectures on a range of authors and themes; (b) classes including students' presentations; (c) revision workshops; (d) tutorials

Two essays per year; presentations

H. G. Wells The Time Machine; Aldous Huxley Brave New World; Shaw Back to Methuselah; E. Zamyatin We; George Orwell Animal Farm; W. H. Auden The Night Mail; Vladimir Mayakovsky At the Top of My Voice; Alexander Solzhenitsyn A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; Andrei Makine A Life's Music; Milan Kundera The Unbearable Lightness of Being; Ian Fleming From Russia with Love; Tom Stoppard Professional Foul; Bruce Chatwin Utz.

Three-hour written examination (75%); coursework essay (25%)