ENGL 710 - Special Topics in Fiction

3 Credits
Prerequisite(s): None. This intensive investigation of the formal techniques of fiction begins with an overview of the nature of the genre: the different types of short fiction, the graphic novel, the novella, the novel, subgenres, metafiction, satire, utopian and dystopian fiction, bildungsroman, and roman à clef. Students will examine the various elements that shape the way we read fictional texts–aesthetic and cultural ideologies, narrative theories, structure, narrative voice, character development, setting, fictional experimentation, historical and political contexts, and literary theories including reader response. Students may explore many fictional works, or they may focus on the dissection of a single, monumental work.