230204 Sensation, Society and Satire: The 18th-Century Novel (S) (WiSe 2015/2016)

Although there were a number of significant predecessors, the 18th century saw the birth of what we think of as the 'modern' novel. Characterised by a great variety of forms and modes, the 18th century novel explored issues of invidiualism and society, class and gender in a phase when British society was affected by the changes that would turn Britain into a modern state. In this seminar, we will read four classics of 18th century fiction, exploring in particular how narration and characterisation serve the purposes of entertainment and education, the two central concerns of the new genre. We will also contextualise the novel to investigate which other media genres took over similar or different functions.

Teilnahmevoraussetzungen, notwendige Vorkenntnisse

Students ought to be familiar with the methods of narrative text analysis, as tought in the "Analysing and Interpreting Literary Texts" classes.

Literaturangaben

Students wishing to attend the seminar must be in possession of the following texts:

• Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719)
• Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews (1742)
• Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield (1766)
• Elizabeth Inchbald, A Simple Story (1791)

It is recommendable to obtain the Penguin Classics of Oxford World Classics editions of the texts.