Course Description
British fiction of the twenty-first century by authors such as Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro, W.G. Sebald, Pat Barker, Jeanette Winterson, Alan Hollinghurst, Tom McCarthy, Ali Smith, and Zadie Smith.
Athena Title
TwentyFirst Century Brit Fict
Prerequisite
Two 2000-level ENGL courses or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 3000-level ENGL course) or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 2000-level CMLT course)
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Having read a substantial body of literature, students will be able to discuss assigned primary and secondary sources (orally and in writing) with critical sophistication, to read and enjoy other works from the period, and to converse with fellow students about texts and issues related to the subject matter of the course.
Topical Outline
The choice and sequence of topics will vary from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. The topics will consist of selected works by various authors, to be read outside of class and discussed in class, examined individually and comparatively in the context of the times and the circumstances of their composition. Because the course will change from semester to semester, students are encouraged to refer to the English department website for information concerning the course content for a specific semester. This is a sample list of texts: Pat Barker, Border Crossing Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go John Lanchester, Capital Tom McCarthy, Remainder Ian McEwan, Atonement W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz Zadie Smith, On Beauty Edward St. Aubyn, The Patrick Melrose Novels Topics might include: the legacy of 20th-century literature and history; literary responses to 21st-century historical experience (including new global and/or multicultural citizenship and the financial crisis); international influences; interactions between literature and new media; continuities and innovations in the forms of English fiction. Periodically during the semester, students will perform a number of graded tasks, including some combination of written assignments, quizzes, and examinations.
Syllabus