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CS92PROD
Auerbach's Mimesis and the Novel in Recent History
COL 271
Spring 2011
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: ENGL 281, GRST 281

Erich Auerbach's MIMESIS: THE REPRESENTATION OF REALITY IN WESTERN LITERATURE (1946) was arguably one of the key texts for the founding of the College of Letters, as well as a widely admired work of literary and cultural history throughout the West in the second half of the 20th century. It seemed to explain the big picture - social history and its literary representation - in a manner that was at once theological and secular, closely stylistic and broadly philosophical. Nor was it without interest for less traditional thinkers: Edward Said translated Auerbach, and wrote an appreciative introduction to the 50th-anniversary edition of MIMESIS. We shall introduce ourselves to the masterly book and read the last novel it studies, Virginia Woolf's TO THE LIGHTHOUSE. Then we shall study four post-Auerbach European novels that variously extend and challenge his interpretation of literature and literary history: George Perec, LIFE: AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL; Thomas Bernhard, CORRECTION; Javier Marķas, A HEART SO WHITE; and W.G. Sebald, AUSTERLITZ. A principal focus of our attention will be the place of architecture in the post-WWII novelistic imagination.

Essential Capabilities: Interpretation
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA COL
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Student Option
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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