Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to demonstrate:
1. a detailed understanding of the major novels of Charles Dickens, in their historical and literary contexts;
2. an understanding of the terms "romance" and "realism", and a sense of how these interact in the formation of the modern novel;
3. a sense of how fiction, and the arts generally, participate in the production of new social ideologies;
4. the critical role played by Dickens's work in the emegence of a range of modern ideas.

The course will focus on a detailed chronological study of Dickens's major novels. Topics treated include:
1. Rhetorical and narrative strategies in Dickens;
2. Dickens's integration of the new techniques of literary realism with the ancient structures of comedy and romance;
3. the response of Dickens's novels to the upheaval of the industrial revolution;
4. Dickens's contribution to a range of modern ideas, including those concerning social class and society, identity formation and the role of women;
5. Dickens's sense of the threat posed to individual identity, and to the family, by institutions of social management and discipline; and
6. the critical debates surrounding Dickens, including whether the social "message" of his work should be seen as progressive or conservative.

This course (in 2003) with 4 other 10 unit new courses replaces deleted courses:
ENGL3040 Race and Writing 20 units
ENGL3560 Restoration Literature 20 units
ENGL3670 Australian Young Adult Fiction 10 units

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20 units of 1000-level English.

Internal Mode

Seminar

Seminar: for 2 hour(s) per Week for Full Term