The English Romanticism course at Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts explores the literary, cultural, and historical transformations of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Students examine Romanticism’s key themes, including imagination, nature, human desire, morality, gender, and artistic expression, within the context of social, political, and philosophical change. The curriculum covers seminal works by the “Big Six” poets—Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats—as well as women writers like Jane Austen and Mary Shelley. Through interactive discussions, textual analysis, and multimedia resources, students gain a nuanced understanding of Romantic literature, its historical influences, and its enduring relevance across arts, philosophy, and society.
This course introduces students to Victorian literature within its rich social, political, and cultural contexts shaped by industrialization, urbanization, empire, and moral reform. Through a study of major Victorian novels, poetry, and critical prose, students examine how literary forms and themes evolved in response to nineteenth-century realities. The course explores key genres such as the realist novel, dramatic monologue, and lyric poetry, engaging with writers including the Brontës, Dickens, Tennyson, and the Brownings. Emphasizing close reading and historical analysis, the course enables students to situate Victorian texts within the broader tradition of English literary history.
The course Indian Writing in English traces the evolution of Indian literature written in English against the backdrop of India’s historical, social, and cultural transformations. It introduces students to major phases, themes, and genres, including novels, poetry, short stories, and prose, from pre-independence to postcolonial and postmodern writing. The course familiarizes learners with prominent Indian English writers and encourages critical reading, interpretation, and comparative analysis of selected texts. Through interactive discussions and contextual study, students gain insight into issues of identity, nationhood, gender, caste, diaspora, and modernity, fostering a deeper appreciation of Indian literary expression in English.
The course Linguistics and Phonetics offers a systematic and scientific study of the English language, focusing on its structure, use, and sound system. It introduces key concepts in linguistics, including language variation, syntax, semantics, and discourse analysis, while exploring major theoretical approaches and contemporary trends. Special emphasis is placed on phonetics and phonology, enabling students to understand speech mechanisms, sound patterns, stress, rhythm, and intonation. The course also strengthens grammatical competence, vocabulary usage, and sentence construction. Through theoretical learning and practical pronunciation practice, students develop improved communication, analytical skills, and a deeper understanding of English language structure and usage.
The course 20th Century Literature introduces students to key literary movements and texts in English, focusing on modernism and post-colonial literature. It covers narrative, poetic, and dramatic forms, exploring works by authors such as Virginia Woolf, Joseph Conrad, Marquez, Kafka, Borges, Ibsen, Brecht, and Beckett. Students engage with post-romantic poetry, modern novels, plays, and short stories, analyzing their formal, generic, and thematic characteristics. Through interactive discussions, multimedia resources, guest lectures, and presentations, students develop critical reading and interpretive skills. The course emphasizes understanding literature in global and historical contexts, fostering the ability to analyze and articulate complex literary ideas.
The Reading Popular Literature course introduces students to major genres of popular literature, including fantasy, science fiction, crime, and romantic fiction. It explores how these texts reflect and intervene in contemporary reality, offering insights into cultural, psychological, and ideological contexts. Students study works by authors like Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien, H.G. Wells, Agatha Christie, and Nora Roberts, analyzing narrative techniques, themes, and characterizations. The course encourages critical engagement with texts and creative production of original work inspired by them. Interactive discussions, multimedia resources, and continuous evaluation help students develop analytical skills, genre awareness, and an appreciation for popular literary forms.
The course History of Literary Criticism introduces students to the evolution of literary thought and its impact on reading, interpreting, and evaluating literature. Covering classical, Renaissance, Neoclassical, Romantic, Victorian, Modernist, and contemporary critical movements, the course familiarizes students with major theorists, texts, and methodologies. Through interactive seminars, written exercises, and audio-visual aids, students develop skills in analysis, interpretation, and critical writing. By engaging with key excerpts from Plato, Aristotle, Wordsworth, T.S. Eliot, and modern critics, students gain a comprehensive understanding of literary criticism’s history, trends, and applications, equipping them to analyze literature with theoretical rigor and informed judgment.
Shakespeare and His Times is a third-year undergraduate course that explores the life, works, and cultural context of William Shakespeare and his contemporaries. The course introduces students to Elizabethan theatre, language, and society, enabling a deeper understanding of the literary, aesthetic, and historical dimensions of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. Through interactive discussions, analyses of selected comedies, tragedies, and sonnets, and study of contemporaries like Christopher Marlowe, students develop skills in literary interpretation and critical thinking. Pedagogy includes class discussions, multimedia resources, and continuous evaluation. By the end, students gain the ability to critically analyze, contextualize, and appreciate Shakespearean literature.
Literary Criticism 2 is a fourth-year undergraduate course designed to deepen students’ understanding of modern and contemporary literary theories. The course examines key critical frameworks including Marxism, Feminism, Postcolonial Studies, Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, and Cultural Studies, through seminal texts by thinkers such as Brecht, Lukacs, Said, Derrida, and Barthes. Students engage critically with selected readings to develop skills in analysis, interpretation, and scholarly writing. Pedagogy combines interactive discussions, textual analysis, multimedia resources, and continuous assessment. By the end of the course, students are equipped to understand the historical evolution of literary criticism, evaluate theoretical perspectives, and apply them to literature and cultural texts.
Postcolonial Literatures (Africa and Latin America) is a second-year undergraduate course exploring 20th-century literary and cultural production in Africa and Latin America. The course examines histories of conquest, colonialism, imperialism, dictatorship, diaspora, and exile, highlighting innovations in genre and marginalized perspectives. Key texts include works by Ngugi wa Thiongo, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Eduardo Galeano. Students analyze orature, poetry, drama, and novels, exploring intersections of culture, history, and politics. Pedagogy emphasizes interactive discussions, multimedia resources, and expert lectures. Assessments include presentations and assignments. By course end, students gain critical insight into postcolonial narratives, literary forms, and socio-political contexts shaping these literatures.
American Literature is a fourth-year undergraduate course that examines the historical, cultural, and literary development of American writing from the colonial period to the contemporary era. The course covers major literary movements, key authors, and representative works, including novels, poetry, and drama. Students study writers such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, William Faulkner, Sylvia Plath, and Toni Morrison, analyzing texts within their historical, social, and aesthetic contexts. Pedagogy emphasizes interactive discussions, multimedia resources, and critical engagement with texts. Assessments include presentations and written evaluations. By the end of the course, students gain a comprehensive understanding of American literary traditions, thematic concerns, and stylistic innovations.
