English 5671, Theory of the Novel

Goals: To examine and test many theories of the novel. For each I will place two or more theories on the table; you will have read the assigned fiction carefully. The ongoing questions will be:

How clearly defined is the theory? (and, can we fix it)
Is the theory valid, true, or credible for this week's readings?
Based on earlier readings (for this course or outside it), how good is the theory?

In past versions of this course, I have made a list of the theories available, but the articles, books, and chapters were generally not. Since then, the Essentials anthology has become available. I do not require or expect that you read in this book, but I do recommend that you buy a copy in case you have questions or want to check out whether I'm reporting accurately. You are, however, responsible for reading all of the novels.

Texts:

• M. Hoffman and P. Murphy, Essentials of the Theory of Fiction. Durham: Duke Univ. Press, 19xx. ISBN 0-8223-0844-4
• Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders [18xx]
• Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights in the Bedford Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. New York: Bedford [1843?. ISBN 0-333-57558-x
• Henry James. The Turn of the Screw and other short fiction. New York: Bantam, 19xx [1898] ISBN PB 0-553-21059-9
• Kurt Vonnegut. Cat's Cradle. New York: Dell Laurel, 195x. ISBN 0-440-111149-8
• Chinua Achebe. Things Fall Apart. New York: Fawcett, 197x. ISBN 0-449-20810-9
• Rebecca Goldstein. The Dark Sister. Baltimore: Penguin. 198x. ISBN
• Richard Wright. Uncle Tom's Children. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-081251-6
• Bram Stoker. Dracula. New York: Bantam, [189x] ISBN 0-553-21271-0
• Horatio Alger. Ragged Dick. New York: Signet, [1867]. ISBN 0-451-52480-2

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Department of English, University of Minnesota
URL: http://English.cla.umn.edu/FacultyProfiles/Ross/Courses/
Please send comments to: Donald Ross
Last revised 15 November 1999

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