Department of English

James Joyce's writing is among the most complexly conceived and widely influential literature of the twentieth century. An exclusive focus on his oeuvre in this seminar will give students the opportunity to understand the range of his literary expression and the intellectual flexibility required of his readers. The seminar will explore Joyce's reflections on the culture and history of Ireland, which he left behind in exile but returned to continually in his imagination. We will also discuss his contributions to the emergence of modernism in Europe. Readings will include both the major works (including "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", "Dubliners" and "Ulysses"), an excerpt of his difficult final book ("Finnegans Wake"), and some of his lesser-known writings (the volume of poetry, "Chamber Music", and the play, "Exiles"). This course will be writing intensive, requiring several short written projects that build toward a lengthy research essay of 20-25 pages at the end of the term.