“Yes—oh dear yes—the novel tells a story.” Such was E. M. Forster’s definition, or his best guess. But there are other and more daring explanations for the elasticity and staying power of what is arguably the most dominant cultural form of modernity. In this class, we will be studying a wide range of theories of the novel. To test out those theories, we will also be reading an eclectic cluster of novels from the classic to the contemporary to ask some fundamental questions about the form: What distinguishes novels from other artistic forms? What kinds of thinking can the novel perform? How does it imagine the relation between the individual and society? In what ways might novels challenge and critique the worlds they are so invested in describing? Why are certain plots, or recognizable types of imaginary person, more lasting than others? To answer these questions, we will work to estrange ourselves a little from key features of novelistic writing, things we may well take for granted—plot, character, point of view, style, genre, mimesis—so that we can consider their distinctiveness afresh. By reading across a long literary historical timeline we will trace continuities, divergences, and innovations in the history and theory of the novel.
- Teacher: Alexander Millen