European Literature in Translation: European Society After World War Two
10 weekly sessions on campus, on Fridays 11am - 1pm, from Friday 9 October.
Overview
The course will look at novels by three writers deeply affected by the events of World War Two and consider their different responses to having lived through the conflict and their hopes and fears for the future. Considered by some to be his finest novel, Cesare Pavese’s The Moon and the Bonfires has as its protagonist a man returning to his small hometown in Piedmont to find it deeply changed by the war. The Mandarins by Simone de Beauvoir, which won the Prix Goncourt in 1954, focuses on the personal relationships of a group of French intellectuals who attempt to determine their role in the French post-war political landscape. Heinrich Böll’s 1959 novel Billiards at Half-Past Nine takes place on just one day but uses flashbacks to focus on the state of post-war Germany through the lives of the Faehmel family.
The European Literature in Translation course has run for more than thirty years and aims to use the texts studied as the basis for stimulating discussion. Led by an experienced teacher of literature, members of the group sometimes volunteer to prepare talks and presentations on topics of particular interest but all welcome the chance to explore a wide range of texts from across Europe. The class has many regular members but newcomers are always made welcome.
Syllabus
- Week 1 Introduction to European Literature after World War Two – historical background, survey of literary responses
- Week 2 Introduction to Cesare Pavese: biography, works, initial readings
- Week 3 The Moon and the Bonfires
- Week 4 The Moon and the Bonfires
- Week 5 Introduction to Simone de Beauvoir: biography, works, initial readings
- Week 6 The Mandarins
- Week 7 The Mandarins
- Week 8 Introduction to Heinrich Böll: biography, works, initial readings
- Week 9 Billiards at Half-Past Nine
- Week 10 Billiards at Half-Past Nine. Synoptic discussion. Round-up of the term.
Course lecturer
Mark Halton is a retired English teacher with a lifelong interest in European languages and literature and has been a student on this course for several years. His MA from Liverpool was in Victorian Literature. We work as a group and students bring a stimulating range of experience and opinion to the classes. Seminars on the course will be largely tutor-led but there is always the opportunity for group members to lead discussion on topics of particular interest to them. No former knowledge or experience of European languages is required. All are welcome.
Course fee
- Standard fee: £165
- Concession fee: £85