Narrative Theory and Victorian Fiction

ENGL30172 Narrative Theory and Victorian Fiction 20 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 3 Michael Sanders Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Undefined ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 Each seminar engages with a specific theoretical concept/debate within the field of narrative theory and explores a Victorian novel in the light of that debate. Proposed Seminar Programme Text Theory/Concept 1) C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (Introduction to Narrative Theory) 2) C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (Propp/Morphology) 3) C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (Space/Time (Bakhtin/Chronotope)) 4) E. Bronte, Wuthering Heights (Narration (Author/Narrator)) 5) E. Bronte, Wuthering Heights (Closure) 6) G. Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (Structural Analysis/Narratology )(Barthes) 7) G. Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (Interpretation I (Authorial Intention/Author)) 8) W. Collins, The Moonstone (Readers: Implied & Actual (Iser)) 9) W. Collins, The Moonstone (Interpretation II (Symptomatic Readings/Reader)) 10) W. Collins, The Moonstone (The political unconscious (Jameson)) 11) T. Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (Beginnings) 12) T. Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (Masterplots (Brooks)) Each seminar engages with a specific theoretical concept/debate within the field of narrative theory and explores a Victorian novel in the light of that debate. Proposed Seminar Programme Text Theory/Concept 1) C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (Introduction to Narrative Theory) 2) C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (Propp/Morphology) 3) C. Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (Space/Time (Bakhtin/Chronotope)) 4) E. Bronte, Wuthering Heights (Narration (Author/Narrator)) 5) E. Bronte, Wuthering Heights (Closure) 6) G. Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (Structural Analysis/Narratology )(Barthes) 7) G. Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (Interpretation I (Authorial Intention/Author)) 8) W. Collins, The Moonstone (Readers: Implied & Actual (Iser)) 9) W. Collins, The Moonstone (Interpretation II (Symptomatic Readings/Reader)) 10) W. Collins, The Moonstone (The political unconscious (Jameson)) 11) T. Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (Beginnings) 12) T. Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (Masterplots (Brooks)) <ul><li>To introduce students to key concepts and debates in narrative theory (focusing, in particular, on the 'politics of narrative' and the 'science of narrative');</li> <li>To introduce students to a number of key Victorian novels. Throughout the course, we will seek to explore Victorian fiction in the light of narrative theory and to examine narrative theory in the light of Victorian fiction.</li></ul> By the end of this course, students will: <ul><li>Achieve an understanding of a range of theoretical concepts and debates within the field of narrative theory;</li> <li>Obtain greater knowledge, understanding and appreciation of a range of Victorian fiction;</li> <li>Be able to use concepts from the field of narrative theory to produce critical analyses of Victorian fiction;</li> <li>Be able to use Victorian fiction to produce a critical analysis of key concepts within the field of narrative theory.</li></ul> Other This course enhances student employability by giving students a range of transferable skills. These include: logical thought; good written communication skills, resourcefulness in the ability to gather, interpret, analyse and/or evaluate theoretical and primary sources; time management skills through the completion of independent and deadline-driven work; design and presentation skills through the completion of the research poster assignment; good oral communication skills through participation in seminar discussion. One 2-hour seminar per week 0 Other 100% One oral presentation and written handout (20%); one essay (80%) Y H. Porter Abbot, Cambridge Introduction to Narrative (Cambridge: CUP, 2002) M. Bakhtin, The Dialogic Imagination, (Texas: Univ. of Texas Press, 1981. R. Barthes, 'Introduction to a Structural Analysis of Narrative' in S. Sontag ed., A Barthes Reader, (New York: Hill & Wang, 1982) W. Benjamin, Illuminations, (London: Fontana 1992) P. Brooks, Reading for the Plot, (Oxford: Clarendon, 1984) M. Currie, Postmodern Narrative Theory, (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1988) W. Iser, The Implied Reader, (Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 1974) F. Jameson, The Political Unconscious, (New York: Cornell UP, 1981) J. Phelan ed., Understanding Narrative, (Columbus: Ohio State UP, 1994) H. White, The Content of the Form, (Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 1987) Narrative: The Journal of the Society for the Study of Narrative Literature, (Columbus: Ohio State UP) Practical classes & workshops 11 Seminars 22 0 167