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English 105: Introduction to Issues in Literature and Culture

Contemporary Scottish Literature and Culture: Imagining the Nation in an age of Globalization

Fall, 2002

Dr. Leith Davis

web site: http://www.sfu.ca/personal/leith

This course looks at the representation of Scotland and Scottishness in contemporary fiction, poetry and film by artists residing both in and outside of Scotland. We begin with a well-known novel by Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting then move on to consider the work of the work of lesser known Scottish writers: novelist Janice Galloway, short story writer AL Kennedy and poets Robert Crawford, Liz Lochhead, Kathleen Jamie and others. We next study a novel by a Canadian writer, Alistair MacLeod, which considers the Scottish diaspora in Canada. Our last novel is by Audrey Thomas, a BC writer who uses the historical link between Scotland and the Hudson's Bay Company as a background for her novel. Although the course focuses on Scotland, a number of the questions we will be asking will have relevance to our own situation as Canadians: what is national identity? what purposes does the expression of national identity serve? how does the contemporary interest in national identity relate to the increase in globalization? what kinds of expectations are brought to bear on nations by members of other nations? what is the relation of the nation to the members of its diaspora? what role do the members of a diaspora play in the creation of national identity? what is the relation of diaspora to transnationalism?

Required Reading:

Galloway, Janice. The Trick is to Keep Breathing (Dalkey Archive).

MacLeod, Alistair. No Great Mischief (Random).

Thomas, Audrey. Isobel Gunn (Penguin).

Welsh, Irvine. Trainspotting (Norton).

Plus photocopied material.

Course Requirements:

Essay #1 (4 pages): 25%

Essay #2 (8 pages): 40%

Participation and attendance: 5%

Final Exam: 30% (closed book)

Note:

Essays are due at the beginning of the lecture on the day specified.
Late essays are subject to a penalty of 1/3 grade per day late.
Students should familiarize themselves with the Department of English Style guide before beginning their essays.
When using resources in books or on the web, students should be sure to cite them properly. Plagiarism from both print and digital sources is very easy to detect and may result in a student's failing the assignment or course or, at worst, being expelled from the university. If in any doubt about citation, ask!

Syllabus:

WEEK ONE:

Wed., Sept. 4:

Introduction to course

WEEK TWO:

Mon., Sept. 9

Introduction to concepts of course.

Begin Trainspotting

Wed., Sept. 11

Trainspotting

WEEK THREE:

Mon., Sept. 16

Trainspotting

Wed. Sept. 18

Trainspotting

WEEK FOUR:

Mon., Sept. 23

Trainspotting (movie and novel)

Wed., Sept. 25

Trainspotting (movie and novel)

WEEK FIVE:

Monday, Sept. 30