Exploring the Novel

This course will examine a range of novels from a variety of periods and introduce students to various critical debates surrounding the form. We will examine selected works with a particular emphasis on questions such as: are there specific formal elements that characterize those narratives we call 'novels' and if so, what might they be? What is meant by terms such as 'realism' 'modernism' 'romanticism' 'bildungsroman' and what might be at stake in debates over how these terms are defined? What are the uses and limitations of such terms and the narrative elements they describe and inscribe? Is it significant that the history of the novel in Britain coincides with the rise of women as fictional subjects and female authorship? Do novels produced in other cultural contexts rely on slightly different formal elements? Places on this course will be offered to students on the MSc in Creative Writing in the First instance. Credit Level: 11 Year taken: Postgraduate