Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis The subject explores the ways literature depicts relationships between the primitive life - imagined variously as savage, innocent, or naive - and that of civilisation. The texts present different and frequently ambiguous attitudes to the juxtaposed values of primitive and sophisticated humanity. Some of the themes which will be explored are (1) the island or remote place as an arena of conflicting values and life-styles; (2) the impulse to create civilisation in harmony with the natural environment: its successes and failures; (3) an `old world' based on traditional notions of civilisation juxtaposed with a `new world' promising a radically different set of cultural values.
Assessment Essay (1500 words): 30% + Exercise (1000 words): 10% + Examination (2 hours): 50% + Class paper and participation: 10%