Because he tried to renew one of the western world’s fundamental stories for our time.
Because he succeeded.
Because what he achieved was a comedy as profound as Dante’s – but (unlike Dante’s) a comedy that’s also very funny.
Because, almost incidentally, he also revolutionized the English language.
You’ll see. Nobody emerges from the Joyce experience ungrateful.
Texts:
James Joyce, Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Ulysses
Don Gifford, “Ulysses” Annotated
Assignments: Four five-page papers or (depending on class size and your interest) two five-page papers and a ten-page paper; midterm and final. W focus. The course satisfies breadth of field and history requirements.