Senior Seminar

Joyce’s ULYSSES was not only one of the central achievements of modernist fiction but also a watershed novel, representing an ultimate realization of the process of interiorization of narrative that had been evolving in European fiction during the latter part of the nineteenth century. We will devote about half the semester to a close reading, episode by episode, of Joyce’s novel, and then will consider three later novels, in three different national-literary traditions, that in different ways emulate and carry forward Joyce’s precedent.

Students will be expected to write two papers of eight to ten pages each during the semester, one on ULYSSES and one another novel of their choice, topics to be determined in consultation with the instructor. There is no examination.