The Eighteenth Century marked the beginning the English
novel. In this course, we will study the
early novel as an innovative genre. We
will consider the ways eighteenth-century authors experimented with this new
bulky, self-consciously democratic form to explore issues of gender, politics,
economics, literature, ethics, and culture.
We will also look at narrative technique, particularly how writers incorporated
“discussions” about the novel as a genre into the language and structure of
their works. Finally, we will examine
the historical changes taking place in England and the world that
contextualized this new genre and made it possible.
Required Texts:
- Daniel Defoe’s ROXANA
- Samuel Richardson’s CLARISSA (abridged)
- Henry Fielding, JOSEPH ANDREWS, Eliza
- Sara Scott, A DESCRIPTION OF MILLENIUM HALL,
- Fanny Burney. EVELINA
- Elizabeth Inchbald, A SIMPLE STORY
- Ann Radcliffe, A SICILIAN ROMANCE
- Mary Wollstonecraft, MARY and THE WRONGS OF WOMEN
Course Requirements:
- Regular attendance
- Informal writing
- Six essay exams