The course aims at exposing some of the many roles that the city, as a specific source of human experience, has played in literature from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. To some extent, the course also explores literature’s influence on how individual cities are seen and understood. Our analysis will make use of a number of viewpoints, some of them solidly rooted in socio-historical conditions and others more clearly based on metaphorical (or metonymical) approaches to the city. In addition to examining several stories set in well-known cities, we will take a look at urban studies as a field and find ways of using its perspectives in readings of literary texts.
During the last few weeks of the course, students will give presentations on a literary or cinematic text not included in course materials.
Assessment: class participation, a group presentation, and a course diary.
Note: If you have taken the Literary Landscapes course in or before 2013, there will be some overlap, as previously that course also touched upon city literature.

In addition to enrolment in NettiOpsu you need to fill in a form to indicate an order of preference for your chosen options courses.