239538 Rule-Breakers, Choice-Makers and Risk-Takers in the Twentieth Century British Novel (S) (SoSe 2013)

This course introduces the students to some of the most emblematic examples of postmodern fiction, challenging the traditional notions of character and plot. In the vast realm of postmodern aesthetics, the curious, instinctual and controversial character is finally the protagonist and not merely the catalyst of events. In a time of blurred distinctions between mass culture and highbrow literature, morality becomes no less ambivalent than spirituality. Mystical, singular and torn by contradictions, the mid- and late-twentieth century character is prone to making life-altering choices based on rash judgments rather than pragmatism.

Literaturangaben

Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter (1948)
John Fowles, The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969)
Graham Swift, Waterland (1983)