Course information

Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence.

Storytelling belongs to the history of all humans. This course will explore why we love fiction; the elements which make up a ‘story’; and how the modern novel was invented and developed throughout history.

We will begin by discussing the features which constitute a ‘novel’, and the history of it's emergence from other forms of narrative. We will also discuss issues such as: para text and framing devices; the role of the narrative structure; the complexities of multiple narrators; types of authorship; and philosophical content. We will discuss various novels beginning with Don Quixote (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes, and end with Patrick White’s Riders in Chariots (1961).

Aims

The aims of the course are to deepen your knowledge of literature in general, and open up many works which are sometimes difficult to enter without an introduction to the style of the novelist and the context in which they are writing. In addition, this course aims to increase your enjoyment of the novel experience.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• identify the elements of storytelling and fiction
• understand the history of the invention of the novel
• identify the internal elements which constitute the novel form
• discuss the philosophical ideas in a range of novels
• apply the theory of fiction to contemporary works of fiction.

Content

Historical background

The course will begin with the forms of literature from which the novel develops. Beginning: Don Quixote (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes, Oroonoko (1688) by Aphra Behn and Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe.

Political and social context

Art is always embedded in the developments of its time. We will look at the features of 17th and 18th century culture which make the novel possible, including the rise of the middle class. Then to the 19th century with Far from the Maddening Crowd (1874) by Thomas Hardy. This beautiful story is concerned with many of the anxieties of the age: urbanisation and the loss of connection to the natural world; changing social structures (Bathsheba’s fight to maintain her independence as a women).

The rise of the modern novel: The unconscious

One of the seemingly impossible tasks of the modern novel was how to represent the unconscious in the conscious space of language. Our focus work will be Thomas Mann’s monumental novel The Magic Mountain (1924). For Mann the central paradox of modernism is the historical loss of the mythic and its rediscovery in the unconscious.

The American novel

The Great Gatsby (1925) by F Scott Fitzgerald and Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury (1929). The symbolic structure of fiction must accommodate its own contemporary world. For an American like Fitzgerald, it is the motor car in Gatsby which symbolises the “vast carelessness of indifferent violence”.

Postcolonial fictions

Postcolonialism explores ideas of metropolitan alienation, race and the problems of speaking in a ‘universal voice’. V. S. Napaul’s experiences in 1950’s London express both the disorientation and hope of this time: “I was at the beginning of that great movement of people that was to take place in the second half of the 20th century.”

The fictionalisation of Australia

The Australian landscape becomes the metaphorical and symbolic structure out of which the identity of Australia emerges. Miles Franklin's My Brilliant Career (1901) and Patrick White's Riders in Chariots (1961).

Intended audience

Anyone with a general interest in philosophy and the course themes.

Prerequisites

None

Delivery mode

Online via the platform Zoom

Delivery style

Lecture/seminar

Materials

Course handouts are provided electronically using Dropbox.

Prescribed text

There is no prescribed text. However you may enjoy any of the following novels:

• Don Quixote (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes
• Oroonoko (1688) by Aphra Behn
• Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe
• The Sound and the Fury (1929) William Faulkner
• The Great Gatsby (1925) by F Scott Fitzgerald
• In a Free State (1964) by V.S. Naipaul
• My Brilliant Career (1901) by Miles Franklin
• Riders in Chariots (1961) by Patrick White
• Far from the Maddening Crowd (1874) by Thomas Hardy
• The Magic Mountain (1924) by Thomas Mann