Growing up in Fiction
Deborah Burnham profile
W 6:30-9:10
This course will consider the growth and potential of the form classically called a bildungsroman, "the novel of development and education". Because much of the most significant fiction in the last two centuries has taken this form, the course will also constitute a partial history of the novel. The texts will include Persuasion, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, The Awakening, House of Mirth, Little Women, Sons and Lovers, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Catcher in the Rye, and several contemporary works. We will analyze the various historical definitions of the "bildungsroman," both male and female, and attempt to create new defintions that are both inclusive and meaningful. These questions will include the differences between male and female "bildungsroman," especially the ways in which social opportunities and constraints shape the lives of the protagonists. Course requirements include regular attendance and participation in discussion, brief weekly papers and a longer final paper.
updated 2006-10-05
