Topic: Defoe and Austen
| Time | Days | Location | Instructor | GER | Credit | OPUS Class Number | Syllabus (Tentative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3:00pm-4:15pm | MW | Candler Library 121 | Paul Kelleher. | HAPW. | 4 | 4285 | TBA. |
Content: This seminar will investigate the literary and cultural achievement of two of the most influential English novelists: Daniel Defoe and Jane Austen. Defoe and Austen are central to the development of the novel in England, and together, they shaped many of the formal and intellectual characteristics that continue to define the genre of the novel. Among other topics, our seminar conversations will focus on how Defoe and Austen pioneered the novelistic representation of "reality"; experimented with the literary uses of character, plot, and narrative voice; developed complicated visions of human psychology; and explored the (often interconnected) questions of romantic love, economic competition, and social ambition.
Texts: Possible texts include Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders, and Roxana, and Austen's Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion.
Particulars: Active class participation is essential; written work will include a combination of exams, essays, and reading responses.
Note: This course is limited to advanced English majors (twenty-four hours, including English 205), advanced majors in other literature-based departments (e.g., Comparative Literature), or by permission of the instructor.
The schedule of courses on O.P.U.S. is the official listing of courses, including days and times they meet and the General Education Requirements they satisfy. Students should use course descriptions as general guidelines. Course requirements, grading details, book lists, and syllabi are subject to change.