Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

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ENAM0439A-F09

Character in Literary History

“Character” in Literary History
In this course, we will take a close look at literary character-what it is; what makes it "round" or "flat," "deep" or "shallow"; how and why "fictional person" acquired the name "character," which literally means "printed or engraved mark." How, we will ask, does the concept of "character" relate to representations of the body, of property, of authorship, of the Unconscious, and of the self? What is the relation of theatrical character to character in the novel? Using various critical approaches (materialist, feminist, reader-response, psycho-analytic) we will explore the historical development of "character" on stage and page. Playwrights will be selected from Terence, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Pirandello, and Kushner; and novelists will be selected from Defoe, Sterne, Austen, Shelley, Dickens, Woolf, and Rushdie. 3 hrs. lect.
Course Reference Number (CRN):
92675
Subject Code:
ENAM
Course Number:
0439
Section Identifier:
A

Course

ENAM 0439

All Sections in Fall 2009

Fall 2009

ENAM0439A-F09 Seminar (Berg)