Course Description
The development of the British novel in the nineteenth century.
Athena Title
Nineteenth-Century Brit Novel
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ENGL 4520W
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 every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course will focus on a number of significant novels published in England during the 19th century. Students will sharpen their skills as critical readers in closely examining the narrative techniques deployed by various authors, including the aesthetic implications of serial publication. The class will consider the historical and cultural contexts of the society in which these works were produced and the ways in which certain themes(the fear of political revolution, the "woman question," the growing influence of the scientific and industrial revolutions) are inflected in these novels. Significant writing assignments will also encourage students to polish their skills as writers of analytical prose.
Topical Outline
Novels studied in this course will vary from instructor to instructor. A syllabus might include items such as the following: Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice William M. Thackeray, Vanity Fair Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss Charles Dickens, Bleak House Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge George Gissing, The Odd Women Students will hand in frequent brief writing assignments designed to sharpen their skills as close readers of fiction; they will have frequent quizzes over the assigned reading, a mid-term and a final exam. The final research paper of 10-15 pages will explore one topic relating to 19th-century fiction.
Syllabus