BA English Literature with Creative Writing / Course details

Roland Barthes observed that narrative is “international, transhistorical, transcultural: it is simply there, like life itself”.  This course asks three inter-related questions.  What is narrative? How does narrative work? What does narrative do i.e. why do human beings need narrative?  To answer these questions, the course examines key leading theorists of narrative (e.g. Propp. Bakhtin, Brooks, Jameson) and important debates within narrative theory (e.g. closure, masterplots, intention).  The course uses three novels by Charles Dickens to explore these theories and debates.  In short, this is a dialectical course which uses narrative theory to explore the works of Charles Dickens while simultaneously using the works of Charles Dickens to explore narrative theory.

- to introduce students to key theorists of narrative and important concepts and debates within narrative theory;

- to use aspects of narrative theory to produce theoretically-informed analyses of novels by Charles Dickens;  

- to use Dickens’ novels to assess the validity of the claims made by narrative theorists and the utility of various concepts within narrative theory;

- to develop skills of critical thought and writing in relation to the study of narrative theory and the novels of Charles Dickens;

- to develop IT and design skills through the research poster assignment; 

• Students will achieve an understanding of a range of theoretical concepts and debates within the field of narrative theory.
• Students will obtain greater knowledge, understanding and appreciation of a range of Victorian fiction.
• Students will be able to use concepts from the field of narrative theory to produce critical analyses of Victorian fiction.
• Students will be able to use Victorian fiction to produce a critical analysis of key concepts within the field of narrative theory.

This class will have a 1 hour close-reading workshop and a 2 hour seminar (supported by a series of lecture podcasts).

Materials including lecture podcasts, bibliographies, study questions, exercises, handouts, will be posted on Blackboard each week. 

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

- demonstrate a good familiarity with a range of narrative theorists and concepts;

- demonstrate a critical understanding of how specific aspects of narrative theory can be used to produce a theoretically-informed reading of Dickens’ fiction;

- demonstrate a critical understanding of how Dickens’ fiction might challenge or confirm specific claims made by and/or concepts used within narrative theory; 

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

- think critically and make critical judgments about the validity and utility of narrative theory and its associated concepts and debates;

- analyse course texts in a theoretically sophisticated manner;

- identify and evaluate the competing epistemological claims of narrative theory and Dickens’ fiction with regard to matters of theoretical and evidential warrant; 

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

- think critically and make critical judgments about the validity and utility of narrative theory and its associated concepts and debates;

- analyse course texts in a theoretically sophisticated manner;

- identify and evaluate the competing epistemological claims of narrative theory and Dickens’ fiction with regard to matters of theoretical and evidential warrant; 

- retrieve, sift, organise, synthesise and critically evaluate material from a range of different sources, including library, electronic, and online resources;

- produce written work using appropriate language for an academic audience;  

- produce written work that collects and integrates evidence to formulate/test a critical argument;

- make good use of word processing software;

- demonstrate good teamwork skills by acknowledging the views of others and working constructively with others in seminars;

- manage time effectively by scheduling tasks in order of importance;

- communicate knowledge specific to narrative theory using language appropriate for an extra-academic audience via the research poster;

- develop and complete an effective research project on a key narrative theorist/debate/concept(s);

- demonstrate the ability to improve one’s own learning through critical reflection and good time management; 

Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby

Charles Dickens, Bleak House

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

H. Porter Abbott, The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative

V. Propp, The Morphology of the Folktale

M. Bakhtin, ‘Forms of Time and of the Chronotope in the Novel’

F. Jameson, The Political Unconscious

P. Brooks, Reading for the Plot