Department of English

This course will involve an immersion in three great texts central to European modernism: Proust's *Remembrance of Things Past* (selections), Joyce's *Ulysses*, and Kafka's *The Castle*. We will investigate both what makes these texts unique and what they have in common.  Qualities of form and structure will be analysed. Social and historical contexts will be explored. Issues of intertextuality, reflexivity, irony, and authorship will occupy our attention.
These are long and difficult works, requiring a certain tenacious appreciation of complexity on the part of their readers. Students need not have read these authors before (though some exposure would help), but they should be experienced in literary analysis and interpretation. Two papers and regular listserve postings will be required.