Høst 2025

ENG-3102 Development 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 (lektorutdanning, studieretning engelsk, jf. progresjonskrav for år 4).

This course may be taken as a single course by students who meet the admission requirements for the master's programme in English Literature.

This course fulfils the Studies in Genre requirement for the master's programme in English literature.

Course overlap

ENG-2102 Development of the Novel 10 ects

Course contents

The course will offer a close reading of 5 major Anglophone novels alongside a careful examination and contextualization of generic innovations and developments. Since one semester does not allow for an exhaustive consideration of the historical development of the novel, the course will focus on sites of tension in the genre’s development, and the five novels will be used as starting points for broader generic discussions. We will look at the ways novels have historically fit themselves to society, strained against it, and constructed the act of reading as radically different experiences.

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 Norwegian grading system) is required.

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

Objective of the course

The students have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

Students:

have a comprehensive understanding of the novel form and its history, including major sub-genres
understand the relationship between socio-historical shifts and developments in the genre, with a focus on Britain and America
understand the significance of shifts in the genre form within the Anglo-American novel writing tradition

Skills

Students are able to:

present and discuss the knowledge they have acquired both orally and in writing
approach novels through competing theorizations of the genre
explicate texts and develop strategies for interpretation in relation to existing criticism
use narratological terms to describe and compare novels

Language of instruction

English.

Teaching methods

The course is taught weekly in two-hour sessions of the lecture and discussion over the whole semester. The classes will consist of lectures, seminars/exercises, and discussions.

Quality assurance

All courses will be evaluated once during the period of the study program. The board of the program decides which courses will be evaluated by students and teacher each year.