Woodsworth College

First Year Seminars in Creative and Cultural Representations

CCR 199Y1 Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in Her Time and Ours  (L0331   T 1-3)
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s 1813 novel about spirited Elizabeth Bennett and forbidding Mr. Darcy, is the central focus of this seminar. Admired by both critics and readers since its publication, Pride and Prejudice rewards study both for its own sake, a model of English prose fiction and a revealing image of England on the threshold of modernity, and for what its contemporary popularity reveals about our time, which has witnessed an outpouring of retellings and adaptations of the novel since a highly successful 1995 BBC television production starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. The seminar has two principal goals: to appreciate Austen’s fiction in historical context and to consider whether or not Austen’s original vision survives in contemporary versions of her story. Works studied will include Pride and Prejudice, a number of film and television versions of the novel, two other novels by Austen, and one or more modern novels and films based on Pride and Prejudice, including Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Instructor:  Dr. T. Moritz

CCR 199Y1 FATAL ATTRACTION: The Lure of the Villain in Literature  (L0332 Th 3-5)
Why is it that literary villains and vampires such as Satan, Iago, Heathcliff, Dexter, and Dracula get all the best lines?  Villains and vampires are usually intelligent, devious, scheming, and nefarious, often eloquent or even charismatic.  The defining characteristic of many of these characters is that they know they are villains and are often proud of it, yet as Tillyard comments “to be greatly bad, a man [or woman] must have correspondingly great potentialities for good.”  Villains and vampires are not only compelling as fictional characters, but their wrongdoings often begin and drive the plot.  In this course, we will examine some remarkable villains and vampires, including some female characters, selected from literature.  After identifying some archetypal characters and themes, students will observe how villains have been reshaped over the centuries and what role women play in the villainous impulse.  Films will be integrated with written texts where appropriate.  This seminar will assist students develop skills in critical reading and thinking, academic writing, and seminar presentations.  Evaluation will be based on reading response entries and a final analysis assignment, two in-class identification tests, one group presentation, and class participation.
Instructor:  J. B. Rose

For a complete listing of the 199Y1 Seminars offered by the Faculty of Arts and Science check out the web site at: http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/undergraduate/course/fyh-1.