Course Description
What did it mean to read a novel in the nineteenth century? This course will consider the novel as a technology and reading as a process of adapting to new forms in different time periods and with different mediums and materials. As we examine the history of the novel, we will experiment with different reading styles: serialized reading, close reading, reading out loud, collaborative and networked reading, e-reading, and even not reading. We will read canonical novels, gothic and sensational fiction, and popular novels during the nineteenth century that are no longer read today. Along the way, we will gain an appreciation for the sheer volume of published novels in the nineteenth century, as well as examine how attitudes towards reading in the nineteenth century parallel some of the controversies surrounding the supposed death of print and reading today. View the complete syllabus here.
Note: If you elect to use e-readers, you will find links to appropriate digital editions below. Since we are going to discuss the way different editions and formats of novels impact the way we read them, the specific editions I’ve listed are very important to your understanding of the course material. Please use the editions I’ve linked to here, whether you choose print or digital.
Jane Austen. Northanger Abbey (Audiobook)
Mary Shelley (with Percy Shelley). The Original Frankenstein. (Digital)
Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Lady Audley’s Secret. (Digital)
Arthur Conan Doyle. A Study in Scarlett. (Digital)
Richard Marsh. The Beetle. (Digital) *The Kindle edition on amazon is not the correct edition.