Introduction to Fiction (213-0-01)

Instructors

Jules D Law

Meeting Info

Locy Hall 301: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

A monster, a basement, a storm, a prayer. What scenes haunt a child's mental landscape? Coming of age is a process of wrestling with scenes of the past, and coming-of-age novels present us with identities that are paradoxically both formed and in the process of being formed. Such novels probe our sense of origins and identity, and moreover they reveal a complex relationship between language and the body. The four groundbreaking novels we'll read span 200 years and multiple continents, and explore a striving for belonging that is complicated by issues of ethnic, racial and sexual identity.

Note: Representations and opinions of gender and race in Frankenstein will not align fully with our own notions, and the casual and unreflective nature of its prejudices may be dismaying. We will certainly discuss these issues. Two of the contemporary texts on our course contain frank depictions of juvenile sexuality.

Teaching Method

Two lectures per week; one required discussion-section per week.

Evaluation Method

Midterm paper (25%); final paper (35%); final exam (20%); quizzes and class participation (20%).

Class Materials (Required)

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (Broadview 3rd Edition, 2012), ISBN 9781554811038.
Justin Torres, We the Animals (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), ISBN 9780547844190.
Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones (Bloomsbury), ISBN 978-1-60819-626-5.
Yaa Gyasi, Transcendent Kingdom (Vintage), ISBN 978-1-9848-9976-7

Texts will be available at: Norris Bookstore.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area

Associated Classes

DIS - University Library 4722: Thurs 4:00PM - 4:50PM

DIS - University Hall 318: Thurs 5:00PM - 5:50PM

DIS - University Hall 318: Fri 9:00AM - 9:50AM

DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 2-435: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM