Department of English

This One Series course focuses on Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life. The bestselling novel has been described as both “trauma porn” and as the “great gay novel,” and its reception has been as impassioned as it has been divided. Are its visions of queer sexuality radical or sterile? Is the author unnecessarily cruel to her own characters? Why are there so many videos online of its readers crying? And how does that figure into a longer history of novel reading and emotions? In keeping with the complex questions that A Little Life provokes, our readings and discussions will be contextualized by the novel’s implications in social and literary theories, including queer relationships and sexualities, race, literary marketplaces, online culture, affect theory, and reader reception.

In addition to gaining a foundational knowledge of literary studies, students will leave the course with a more comprehensive understanding of what novels can make us feel and how they do so. Assignments will include brief critical and personal reflection exercises each week. For final projects, students will have the choice of a critical essay or creative project.

*Note: This course has a general trigger warning, but especially with regard to self-harm, suicide, and sexual violence.*