Studies in the Novel will address specific issues or trends in the history of the novel. Examples include unreliable narration in the novel form, the post-colonial novel, and the gothic novel then and now.

As an example, students will consider four U.S. novels, from the 1790s to the 1930s: Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker; Moby Dick; The House of Mirth; and Their Eyes Were Watching God. In each of the course's four sections, we will begin with the novel and then move outward, engaging with 1) contemporaneous sources and artifacts that will place each novel into a rich historical, intellectual, and material context 2) biographical material and 3) the history of criticism about the novel.

Course Requirements:

One brief paper (2 pgL one short paper (3-4 pg), and a final longer paper (7-8 pg).

Intended Audience:

Juniors and above.

Class Format:

Faculty lead 1. 5 hour meetings twice weekly.