British Literature in the 1950s
Course details
Course code
Q00017580Course date
Number of classes
10 sessionsTimetable
Branch
Richmond BranchTutor
Stephen SmithFee range
How you'll learn
Venue
Duke Street ChurchQuadrant Road
Richmond
TW9 1DH
Level of study
Entry Levels 1,2,3: If you have never studied this subject before and you’re not confident in your skills, Entry levels are a good starting point.
Level 1: Covers basic skills and knowledge needed for this subject
Level 2: Building on basic knowledge or experience. Similar to Grade 4/ C at GCSE or O level in England or Standards in Scotland.
Level 3: Learn about the topic in-depth and have a broad range of skills. Independent working Equivalent to an A level in England or Higher in Scotland.
Beginners: A perfect introduction if you have no experience and skills in this subject.
Improvers: The next step if you have basic skills or knowledge but want to progress them further.
Advanced: Build on the solid experience and skills you have in this subject, applying your skills and knowledge in a more complex way.
Course overview
Course description
The 1950s is a seminal decade in twentieth century British
history, which saw Britain adjusting to the legacy of the
Second World War and the decline of Empire on a global
scale. On the domestic front, change was no less seminal, as
the traditional structures of society, the patriarchy and class
hierarchies came under increased pressure. Many of our
texts chart the changes in the position of the working class,
women’s newly enfranchised and emancipated roles and the
problems associated with mass culture and consumerism.
Osborne’s play Look Back in Anger takes us inside many of
these political and social changes, being both new and
innovative and yet tinged with nostalgia, a nostalgia which
will inform the voice of Barbara Comyns’ neglected novel,
The Vet’s Daughter, an early Virago classic, and strange and
haunting oneiric tale. This oneiric quality will also be in
evidence in Denton Welch’s work A Voice Through a Cloud.
The era brought new voices into play and we will observe
this in Muriel Spark, and we will reassess the position of the
familiar text, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, before we
conclude with an analysis of the urgent voice of the working
class voiced by Stan Barstow’s text
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What other support is available?
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