01 MTH CAC 12255 ZITIN MTH3 MU-208
This course introduces students to some influential works of fiction published in the 1700s, considering them as formative for the tradition of novel-writing in English. How did writers (and readers) from this era help shape what we mean when we talk about “the novel” today? How might we define its core features: plot, character, narration, setting? In what ways do these features of prose fiction register the historical context of the texts in which they appear, and how might they be subject to historical change? What does it mean to talk about fictional worlds, or world-building? What can we ever know about another person’s life story? Do fictional characters help us understand real people, and if so, how? This course is discussion-centered and reading-intensive, with daily in-class writing assignments.