English - Free topic F:Nation, Cosmopolitanism and Literature

In this course we will look at how a selection of literary texts engage with the vexed questions of the nation and of cosmopolitanism in terms of individual attachment and belonging. What goes into the making of ’nation’? How it is imagined, bordered, and gendered and, most importantly, who is included and excluded from its realms? How do the myths of the nation sustain or obstruct individual characters in their desire for recognition and agency? Is cosmopolitanism an aesthetic or political category or, perhaps, both? Is cosmopolitanism an idealistic rather than practical ‘project’? What does a citizen of the world really mean and is this possible in practice? What characterises a cosmopolitan world-view or ethos? We will explore such questions as we engage in close reading of literature that ranges from James Joyce’s Dublin to Brexit Britain and beyond.