In this course we will study major plays and poems by Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), one of the major European dramatists of the twentieth century. We will trace the development of his writings from his anarchic Expressionist beginnings via his Marxist conversion and the work of his antifascist exile years to the late works written in the newly founded German Democratic Republic. This will provide insights into Brecht's view of language as a means of ideological persuasion.

20 x 1 hour sessions over both semesters as scheduled in MyCampus.

This is one of the honours options in SMLC and may not run every year. The options which are running this session are available on MyCampus

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The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Essay (2000 words) - 50%

■ Essay (2000 words) - 50%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There is no alternative to the essays, but an extension to the deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustment (students should follow the usual process for extensions).

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

This course aims to:

■ use Brecht's works to help students reflect upon their own lives as mediated by categories such as gender and class, and as confronted by competing ideological discourses and pressures to perform;

■ provide insight into Brecht's resilience and survival skills in the first half of the twentieth century;

■ develop student skills in literary analysis at an advanced level;

■ apply a number of interdisciplinary perspectives (historical, rhetorical, political, sociological, economic, gender studies).

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ analyse language as a creative construction and as a means of ideological persuasion;

■ formulate their own critical arguments through their assessed work;

■ write critically about rhetorical devices (such as the Verfremdungseffekt) in Brecht's dramatic and poetic texts;

■ engage effectively with debates in critical theory and secondary literature.