Lecturer in charge: Professor Carolyn Cooper [Room 37 – New Arts Block]

Focusing on four novels of the 19 th and 20 th centuries, arising out of varying cultural contexts, the course provides an introduction to key issues in the study of prose fiction. John Peck's How to Study a Novel is a highly recommended text. In his “Preface,” Peck notes that “[l]iterary criticism is an activity, like any other, with its own rules and well-established modes of conduct. But these rules are seldom, if ever, explained to the newcomer. He or she is likely to be thrown in at the deep end, and, in a confused sort of way, from the observation of others, expected to establish what the rules are.” The purpose of this course is to guide students into an understanding of some of the “rules” that “govern” literary criticism; and to enable the application of these in the study of representative novels.

Instruction: 2 lectures, 1 tutorial per week

Evaluation: Coursework assignments (to be announced) 40%

Final 2-hour examination (2 answers) 60%

Prescribed Texts:

Achebe, Chinua. A Man of the People (Heinemann pb)
Bronte, Charlotte . Jane Eyre (Penguin pb)
Martel, Yann. Life of Pi ( Vintage , Canada pb)
Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea (Penguin pb)

Highly Recommended Texts :

Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms (Thomson Wadsworth pb)
Peck, John. How to Study a Novel (Palgrave pb)