Yearbooks

Programme: BAHons English

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Code Faculty
01240212 Faculty of Humanities
Credits Duration
Duration of study: 1 year Total credits: 120
Contact:
Prof JA Wessels
[email protected]
+27 (0)124202351
Prof MA Brown
[email protected]
+27 (0)124203519

Admission requirements

  • A Bachelor of Arts degree with a minimum of 124 credits in English of which 60 must be from the modules ENG 310 and ENG 320 (or equivalent modules from other universities) with an average mark of 70% in these third-year modules except at the discretion of the head of department. Teaching or other experience will be taken into account.

 

 

 

 
 

 

Minimum credits: 120

ENG 778 and ENG 701 is compulsory.

Select 3 core modules - 45 credits

Elective Modules

Any 2 modules from the list or, at the discretion of the Head of Department, one to two honours modules offered by other departments in the Faculty of Humanities - 30 credits.

Core modules

  • Module content:

    This module provides a survey of poetics and literary theory in English, with particular reference to developments since the beginning of the 20th century. It covers aspects such as new criticism, structuralism and post-structuralism, as well as feminist and Marxist approaches to literature.

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  • Module content:

    The module begins with a general introduction to literary approaches to African writing. Thereafter a selection of texts representing the three genres – poetry, drama and prose – is studied. You are encouraged to attend live performances of South African plays and to read current editions of local journals such as Contrast, English Academy Review, Staffrider, Current Writing, Pretexts and English in Africa for reviews and scholarly articles.

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  • Module content:

    The module begins with a general introduction to literary approaches and concepts in African writing. Thereafter a selection of prose, drama and poetry from West, East and Central Africa is studied.

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  • Module content:

    This module provides and overview of the history and range of short story writing in South Africa and covers the work of individual writers such as Bosman, Smith, Head, Rive, Ndebele, Matthews, Essop, Wicomb and Vladislavic. Students are also encouraged to examine new work published in literary journals.

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  • Module content:

    A range of interest in children’s literature is represented in this module: children’s literature as a social formation, in education and in psychology. The module discusses literature for, by and about children, in different methodologies and modes.

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  • Module content:

    This module provides a thorough coverage of English grammar and phonology with special attention to the structures and sounds that are most problematic for foreign learners. The module also suggests methods for the effective teaching of grammar and pronunciation in the ESL/EFL classroom.

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  • Module content:

    The module develops language-editing skills, using a variety of texts from different fields and of varying levels of complexity. Students edit texts to produce grammatical, idiomatic and logical English texts, taking into account peculiarities of South African English and local needs. They adjust work to meet the needs of a specified target audience. The principles of plain language editing are applied, in addition to strategies to overcome textual complexities for given target audiences, ranging from academics to neo-literates. A special focus is the editing of translations in the SA context.

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  • Module content:

    The module caters for students wishing to replace a complete honours module with a specialised topic (in an extended research report form) on any aspect of English language or literature.

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  • Module content:

    This module caters for students who have an interest in writing and who wish to produce original, creative work of their own. It is practical in orientation, and the aim is to guide and assist students in producing a portfolio of creative work of a high standard.

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  • Module content:

    This module introduces the student to the reading and appreciation of Old and Middle English art forms in which the emphasis falls on aesthetic and moral issues, rather than on psychological ones. The module is an integrated one beginning with the study of the Old English epic, Beowulf, and includes Anglo-Saxon models as well as homiletic or heroic poems. The Middle Ages witness the reintroduction of English as the language of court, in preference to French, and the growth of narrative and lyrical poetry. Representations of both types of poetry are studied.

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  • Module content:

    The module consists of a selection of Shakespeare's plays intended to give some idea of the scope and development of his work. Students will study history plays, comedies, tragedies and two of the so-called "problem plays".

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  • Module content:

    The English Renaissance spans the period of approximately 1560-1660. This is the period of great expansion in English literature. This module deals with the period from the Elizabethan Age to the early Restoration. It excludes Shakespeare, to whom a separate module is devoted, but deals with Shakespeare’s contemporaries. It further deals with the major poets of the periods and with some of the prose. The Puritan movement and some of its main figures are included.

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  • Module content:

    This module explores a range of works written between 1660 and 1760 and, in keeping with recent critical approaches to the period, emphasises the age’s exuberance, comic and satiric energy, and willingness to experiment with literary forms. Writers discussed include Pope, Johnson, Swift, Wycherley, Congreve and a selection of less well-known female poets and dramatists.

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  • Module content:

    In reading works by writers such as the "Gawain" poet, Malory and Spenser, students will be encouraged to see how such works can conform to generic conventions while also reflecting the preoccupations and values of very different societies. Features of romance present in contemporary fantasy literature will also be discussed.

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  • Module content:

    The modernist movement is examined in the context of contemporary developments in psychology, physics and anthropology, with an emphasis on the break with traditional literary and artistic conventions. Literary developments will be discussed in relation to seminal texts in poetry, prose and drama, including the work of Yeats, Eliot, Hardy, Lawrence, Joyce, Conrad and Beckett.

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  • Module content:

    This module will introduce students to certain key concepts in relation to postmodernism and postmodern literature. A wide range of texts will be studied. These may include works by British, American, Canadian and South African writers.

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The information published here is subject to change and may be amended after the publication of this information. The General Regulations (G Regulations) apply to all faculties of the University of Pretoria. It is expected of students to familiarise themselves well with these regulations as well as with the information contained in the General Rules section. Ignorance concerning these regulations and rules will not be accepted as an excuse for any transgression.

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