This course will consider the growth and the potential of the form classically called "Bildungsroman", the novel of development and of education. Because much of the most significant fiction of the last two centuries has taken this form, the course will also constitute a partial history of the novel. The texts will include Persuasion, Villette, Great Expectations, The Awakening, House of Mirth, Sons and Lovers, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and several contemporary works. These include Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain, O'Brien's Going After Cacciato, and Naylor's Mama Day.

We will examine various historical definitions of the novel of development, both male and female, and attempt to create new definitions that are both inclusive and meaningful. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which social and economic constraints shape the lives of the protagonists. Course requirements include regular attendance and participation in discussion, brief weekly papers, and a longer final paper.