Approaches to Genre: The Novel

The modern era saw an explosion of philosophical (as well as scientific) attempts to understand time as well as poetic and novelistic experimentations with what could be called “literary time.” Literary theorists, working at the intersection of these fields, incorporated both literary and philosophical notions of time in their approaches to literary transmission, plot as a means of organizing time, and varieties of literary temporalities. This course will explore these philosophical, literary and theoretical temporalities, reading modernity through new philosophies of duration, experimental literary modalities of time. Readings include Bergson, Husserl, Heidegger, Benjamin, Bakhtin, Edelman, Kafka, and a selection of Yiddish poetry; students will also contribute to the syllabus.