HENK0390JU English - Free topic 10: The Rise of the Novel

The course will examine the genesis, fundamentals and development of the novel. But, we will do things a little differently from standard accounts of ‘the rise of the novel’. Instead of focusing only on eighteenth-century developments, we will look at the beginning of a number of genres which we today recognise as central to the success of novelistic fiction. This includes the realistic novel, the Gothic, the detective story, and science fiction. We will also familiarise ourselves with some important theoretical discussions of the novel, as well as the most significant characteristics of the genres in question. In this course, you will have the opportunity to study canonical novels in relation to their literary and historical contexts, with an emphasis on how literary fiction either uphold or subvert dominant cultural values.