HENKF2303U English - Free topic C: The Contemporary Novel

This 15 ECTS course, co-taught by Helene Grøn and Christina Lupton, is focused on the reading of recent fiction.  Students will read recent North American fiction alongside novels by British authors. The course will be divided into sections that addressing questions of 1) nation, the state and the institution 2) identity, sexuality and gender and 3) place and the changing environment.  As well as asking what novels can contribute to these areas of awareness, we’ll be asking what means for a work to be contemporary – and how fiction can hope to capture the qualities of a period as turbulent and divisive as our own.  All the readings in this course are tried and tested page-turners, guaranteed to make you stay up at night reading.  As we move through the material, students will be encouraged to develop and research angles of their own interest in contemporary British and American society and will be given research support and feedback on essays before their final presentation.