Vår 2020

ENG-3122 The Novel after the Death of the Novel - 10 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for språk og kultur

Type of course

This course is intended for students in the master's programme in English literature and students in the master's programme in education year 8-13 (lektorutdanninga, studieretning engelsk). This course may be taken as a single course by students who qualify for admission to the MA programme in English Literature.

This course fulfils the Studies in genre requirement for the MA in English literature.

Course contents

The course will look at a number of novels that thematize the difficulty of writing novels after modernism and will question the relevance of the genre in contemporary literary discourse. Is the novel still a powerful literary form in the 21st century, or has it run its course? What are its defining conventions? The discussion will focus on current philosophical issues, such as the possibility of portraying subjective experience, the novel's Eurocentric past and the novel's shifting generic boundaries.

Application deadline

Applicants from Nordic countries: 1 June for the autumn semester and 1 December for the spring semester.

Exchange students and Fulbright students: 15 April for the autumn semester and 1 October for the spring semester.

Admission requirements

Bachelor's degree (180 ECTS), or equivalent qualification, in English literature, or a degree combining English literature and a closely-related discipline (minimum 80 ECTS in English). An average grade equivalent to C or better in the English coursework (80 ECTS) is required.

Application code: 9371 - Enkeltemner på masternivå (Nordic applicants).

Objective of the course

The students have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student has:

Students will learn and become proficient in the primary and secondary texts assigned for the course.
Students will gain knowledge of crucial concepts in postmodern and contemporary narrative poetics.
Students will learn about the state of the novel in relation to the history of the genre.

Skills

The student is able to / can:

Students will demonstrate an ability to analyse complex literary texts both orally and in writing.
Students will demonstrate their ability to engage critically with theoretical and philosophical concepts, such as paranoid hermeneutics, paratextuality, metafiction.
Students will be able to incorporate secondary sources into their final paper.

Language of instruction

Language of instruction and examination: English.

Teaching methods

The course will be taught over thirteen weeks of two-hour seminar meetings. There will be teaching-free periods for academic supervision.

Quality assurance: All courses undergo a halfway evaluation once in a 2-year period at the master`s level. The Programme Board determines which programme options will be evaluated per year, and which courses will be evaluated by the students and the teacher per year.

Assessment

Coursework requirements: Six written responses to one discussion question of each novel. 500-600 carefully chosen, well-organized and revised words. The obligatory coursework requirements must be approved in order to take the final exam.

This course requires regular attendance. However, a distance learning version of the course will also be available. For students who miss more than 3 class meetings (or who wish to take the course as distance students), it will be possible to submit a 500-word response paper addressing the topic for each class meeting missed.

Assessment method: A term paper of 10-15 pages. All written work is based on the following standard: Times New Roman, 12, 1,5, 2,5 cm.

Performance in the course will be assessed on an A-F grades scale. Grades are A-E for passed and F for failed. A re-sit examination is offered in the event of an F grade. The deadline to register for a re-sit examination is January 15th for the autumn semester and August 15th for the spring semester. In the event of a re-sit examination, the student is allowed to submit a revised version of his/her term paper within a given deadline.

Date for examination

Term paper hand in date 04.05.2020

The date for the exam can be changed. The final date will be announced at your faculty early in May and early in November.