Introductory description

The European Novel module seeks to provide an understanding of the novel form through the comparative study of works of European long fiction from the late 18th to the 20th century. It aims to explore key moments in the European history and geography of the form and the range of narrative possibilities and thematic concerns these encompass, focusing in particular on connections and differences of period, culture and nation; on the nature of narrative and the formal techniques and devices of narration; and on the issues raised by theories of narrative, comparativism, and the idea of modernity.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Autumn Term
Weeks 1 Introduction
Week 2 Goethe. Werther;
Week 3 Austen. Emma;
Week 4 Flaubert. Madame Bovary;
Week 5 Dostoyevsky Crime and Punishment;
Week 6 Reading Week
Week 7 Dostoyevsky. Crime and Punishment;
Week 8 Tolstoy. Anna Karenina;
Week 9 Zola. Germinal and Tolstoy. Anna Karenina;

Spring Term
Week 1 Hamsun. Hunger;
Week 2 Kafka. The Trial;
Week 3 Woolf. To the Lighthouse;
Week 4 Lobo Antunes. The Land at the End of the World;
Week 5 Djebar. Algerian White;
Week 7 Sebald. Austerlitz;
Week 8 Enright. The Gathering;
Week 9 Oksanen. When the Doves Disappeared;
Week 10 Seminar New ways for the European Novel

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Students will acquire knowledge of the main theoretical and literary concepts relating to the European novel, and of the cultural and critical contexts within which to situate the texts. They will analyse European texts in translation, developing critical reading skills and confidence in discussing theoretical and critical concepts.

Indicative reading list

All primary texts are available for easy purchase with selected secondary texts to be provided in electronic copy. Bibliography provided includes aforementioned primary texts and extensive selection of secondary readings.

Please see syllabus for illustrative bibliography and module site for secondary readings.

International

The material covered is international

Subject specific skills

By the end of this module students should have:

1. Deepened their understanding of the set texts and developed their ability to read a novel analytically; attending not only to what it says but also the way that it says it.
2. Acquired an understanding of the novel form and how, throughout its history, it is continually being subverted, transformed and redefined.
3. Acquired an understanding of the formal techniques of narration and their effects: e.g. the role of different kinds of narrator; the question of the author; the differences between various modes of linguistic register; the importance of focalisation; the workings of free indirect discourse.
4. Begun to understand and critically assess the key social, historical and political factors that have shaped these particular novels in national, continental and global settings.
5. Developed their ability to discuss texts comparatively and acquired some understanding of different cultural traditions of fiction as they appear within and between European nations and locales.
6. Acquired some grasp of the theoretical issues raised by the novel form, particularly in transitions from romanticism to realism and modernism in various European contexts.
7. Acquired a contextual framework – geographical/formal/historical – for the reading of European novels in general.
8. Improved skills in close textual analysis and essay writing

Transferable skills

Detailed understanding of European cultures and traditions
An awareness of the politics of translation
Research and writing a sustained argument