English Literature

Abstract

This course handout serves as the primary academic resource for the English Literature module (Licence L2) at the University Centre of Barika, Institute of Arts and Languages, Department of English Language and Literature. Spanning the full academic year across Semesters III and IV, it provides structured lecture notes, literary histories, author biographies, story summaries, and close textual analyses designed to guide second-year undergraduate students through four major Anglophone literary movements: Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism. The primary texts covered include poetry by John Keats, short fiction by Edgar Allan Poe, Chinua Achebe, Hamlin Garland, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and prose extracts by Stephen Crane. Alongside the literary content, the handout progressively introduces four critical reading approaches — the Biographical, Historical, Textual, and Postcolonial Approaches — equipping students with the methodological tools necessary for literary analysis at the undergraduate level. Each lecture is structured around Learning Objectives, Learning Prerequisites, Relevant Lexis, substantive Content, and Reflection Questions, following the pedagogical model established within the department. The handout is intended to complement classroom instruction, support independent study, and prepare students for mid-term and final assessments.