English at Oxford

Loving the Nabby avatar.

Reply 2

UpTheBracket.

OP

7

Ha, thanks.

[That's weird, I named that picture 'Nabby' on my computer... Great minds!]

Reply 3

Franc Vouloir

11

At the open day that I attended, one of the English tutors made it clear that, for the majority of the course, we'd be studying 'literature by citizens of England', i.e. no Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and certainly no Russians! That said, I think I remembering hearing Conrad mentioned somewhere. I'll leave it to somebody with actual experience of the course to provide a definite answer.

Reply 4

It doesn't matter about nationality. Heart of Darkness, for example, is a set text at Oxford.

Reply 5

Stephanie08

I believe in the third year we can pick foreign lit? All they asked about in my interview was Russian, European, Asian and Classical lit! We barely touched on the brits.

Reply 6

nickcoal

have you read pale fire btw OP?

Reply 7

Kater Murr

UpTheBracket.

No, I haven't, yet! I've started it (along with quite a few other books, ha) but am yet to finish it.

I'm doing Nabokov for my Russian oral, so I'm currently trying to read his entire works... I think I've read about 7(?) of his books so far. A few to go!

I take it you've read it, though, so what did you think?

Ooh, which ones? I'm quite a big fan myself.

Reply 8

Kater Murr

You should read Despair, next, then, which would be my favourite out of the others I've read by him. It's also incredibly funny, and reminds me most of Lolita because of the first person, rather pompous style (vague - sorry - haven't read it in years), though Hermann has less of Humbert's wit and charm. Pnin's good, too.

Reply 9

Cirsium

19

There are definitely some parts of the course where you can't do any literature not by an actual English person - as I remember the English students I lived with in first year being irritable about it, but not sure to what extent that continues in later years...

Reply 10

hobnob

14

t.w.

It doesn't matter about nationality. Heart of Darkness, for example, is a set text at Oxford.

Not quite true. The authors you'll be doing will be predominantly English (although there are Paper 7 and Paper 8 options in your third year that allow you to study authors outside the UK). It's just that some authors - like Conrad, Henry James, T.S. Eliot, Joyce, etc. - are sort of declared honorary Englishmen and figure on the regular papers. They're special cases, though.

By the way, Heart of Darkness isn't really a set text as such. Most tutors will make you read it, but it's perfectly possible (though perhaps not very sensible) to do the modernism paper without writing on Conrad.

Reply 11

hobnob

Not quite true. The authors you'll be doing will be predominantly English (although there are Paper 7 and Paper 8 options in your third year that allow you to study authors outside the UK). It's just that some authors - like Conrad, Henry James, T.S. Eliot, Joyce, etc. - are sort of declared honorary Englishmen and figure on the regular papers. They're special cases, though.

I meant nationality doesn't matter in that if the novel is in the right language and highly regarded enough, it will be studied. Obviously most of the authors who wrote in English will have been English, seeing as the commonwealth isn't that old in comparison to the age of a lot of the texts being studied.

By the way, Heart of Darkness isn't really a set text as such. Most tutors will make you read it, but it's perfectly possible (though perhaps not very sensible) to do the modernism paper without writing on Conrad.

Most tutors will make you read it, whilst I concede being marginally less than 'set', is good enough to falsify the notion that foreign authors' work isn't studied.

Reply 12

hobnob

14

t.w.

I meant nationality doesn't matter in that if the novel is in the right language and highly regarded enough, it will be studied. Obviously most of the authors who wrote in English will have been English, seeing as the commonwealth isn't that old in comparison to the age of a lot of the texts being studied.

I'm sorry, but that's not true. There are an awful lot of "highly regarded" novels originally written in English which you won't normally get to study unless it's for one of the special options in year 3.

Most tutors will make you read it, whilst I concede being marginally less than 'set', is good enough to falsify the notion that foreign authors' work isn't studied.

I didn't say the work of foreign authors wasn't studied, I said Joseph Conrad is one of a handful of exceptions.

You can just take my word for it, you know. I've actually done the course. :rolleyes:

Reply 13

Let's not start another pointless argument. I posted on this thread because I know that non-English authors are studied in the Oxford English degree, and this information would have helped the OP and answered his/her question. You're being a tad pedantic here. Let's take, for example, your first point:

The authors you will be doing will be predominantly English

What? In pointing out nationality doesn't matter I was referring to if a novel fits into a certain time-period or literary movement and was originally written in English, it doesn't matter about the author's nationality. It doesn't matter, it's just most highly-regarded English novels written by foreign authors aren't that old, and literary movements tend to require a bit of age before them before they are studied as compulsory modules at Oxford. You keep using the word 'exception', as though there is some rule that non-English authors can't be studied. There is no such rule. I'm taking an Oxford English graduate's word for all this.

Reply 14

*pitseleh*

^ hobnob, just out of interest, you mentioned authors from outside the UK in an earlier post - but where do Irish, Welsh and Scottish authors fit in? Do they only fit into those third-year categories as well?

Reply 15

*pitseleh*

t.w.

I'm taking an Oxford English graduate's word for all this.

hobnob is an Oxford English graduate, so not only is she as qualified as the graduate you know - she's also speaking from first-hand experience. :s-smilie:

Reply 16

I'm simply pointing out that I'm not going to agree completely with someone just because they're a graduate, seeing as graduates have differing views on various matters. Obviously if I only hear one graduate's opinion I will probably believe it to be true without any differing views from any other graduates - I'm in no position to make my own mind up about this, which is why everything I say is straight from the mouths of others. Other graduates have told me (right now!) that there is no rule against the study of authors that hail from a foreign land. I don't particularly disagree with anything Hobnob has said, I just felt any objections she made were unnecessary. What are you confused about, then?

Reply 17

*pitseleh*