English 90ry. Reading Politically

Instructor: Tara K. Menon
Monday, 12:45-2:45pm | Location: Sever 112
Enrollment: Limited to 15 students
Course Site

“No book is genuinely free from political bias,” George Orwell wrote. Indeed. But how do we know what these biases are? How can we read not for plot or character but for ideology? Or rather, how can we read plot and character closely in order to uncover the political unconscious of a novel? How exactly does the novel “do” politics? What are its capacities and limitations as a genre? To answer these questions, we will read some of the most canonical realist novels of the nineteenth century: Mansfield Park, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist, Tess of the D’Urbervilles alongside classic works of literary criticism (Raymond Williams, Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, Fredric Jameson, Terry Eagleton, Elaine Scarry, Claudia Johnson, and more). This is an intermediate/advanced seminar. Previous experience in English Department courses is recommended, but not necessary. If you are concerned about the level of the course, please send me an email.

This course satisfies the “1700-1900 Guided Elective" requirement for English concentrators and Secondary Field students.