English R1B

Reading and Composition: The Historical Novel

Other Readings and Media

"Don DeLillo, Libra

Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle

Walter Scott, Waverley

Art Spiegelman, Maus: A Survivor�s Tale (volumes I and II)

Diana Hacker, Rules for Writers 5 th edition

Course reader "

Description

"This class is intended to develop critical reading and writing skills through the study of the historical novel. Over the course of the semester we will examine this genre (which, very generally, is defined by the centrality of historical events for the course of the narrative) in four distinct forms, all the while enriching our readings of these works and our in-class discussion with a few key theoretical texts. Beginning with Waverley, which will serve as our model for the historical novel, we will be asking how history and fiction can be defined in relation to each other, and how their various modes of coexistence within our texts conform to, and complicate, such definitions.



This is a writing intensive course and, as such, a significant portion of the class will be dedicated to refining your expository skills. A total of 3 papers will be required: a 3-page diagnostic essay and two longer essays, the last of which will incorporate independent research."