Department of English

In this course we will read several British novels written during this century, with selections from both before and after WWII. Special attention will be paid to how narrative form in these texts is inextricably linked to tumultuous shifts in political, social and intellectual life in Britain during the 20th century. The novels will include the following: Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce), A Passage to India (E.M. Forster), Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf), Murphy (Samuel Beckett), Lucky Jim (Kingsley Amis), Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys), Waterland (Graham Swift) and Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Jeanette Winterson). Students will also be expected to attend 2-3 film adaptations during the semester. Course requirements include one short paper (5-6 pages), one longer paper (8-9 pages) and a final exam.