Dickens and the Victorian Serial Novel: Reading Dickens in Instalments II 3301-LB1029-2ST
Charles Dickens was a serial novelist, writing and publishing his novels in weekly or monthly cliffhanger instalments (usually three or four chapters per monthly number). Such a publication not only made his fiction more affordable, but also heavily shaped his popularity and close relationship with the growing masses of readers. The instalments were published in iconic blue-green covers accompanied by Dickens-supervised illustrations by such eminent artists as George Cruikshank, Hablot Browne, Luke Fildes or John Leech. The course aims to explore the serial reading experience of a selected Dickens novel, serialisation being the dominant publishing practice for the Victorian era. It focuses on a close concentrated reading of Dickensian instalments, providing a deeper understanding of the novelist’s writing process (serial composition) and the historical and social contexts in which his fiction was written. The course aims to change the common perception of Dickens as an author of long daunting books and provide students with a direct sense of a selected text as the Victorian themselves experienced it. One of its primary objectives is to equip students with research ideas which they may want to bring forward into their future academic dissertations. The course also examines the following aspects in connection with the selected text: narrative technique, focalization (point of view), language and style, literary mode and genre, imagery and symbolism, characterisation, recurring themes and motifs, intertextuality, socio-historical context of the text, and its literary and cultural context.
One of the following novels will be studied throughout the course:
"The Pickwick Papers"
"Oliver Twist"
"The Old Curiosity Shop"
"Barnaby Rudge"
"Dombey and Son"
"David Copperfield"
"Bleak House"
"Hard Times"
"Little Dorrit"
"A Tale of Two Cities"
"Great Expectations"
"Our Mutual Friend"
MA degree programme
Type of course
Mode
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
Students will be able to:
K_W01 identify and characterize on an advanced level the place and status of literary and culture studies within the humanities
K_W02 describe on an advanced level the current trends in literary and cultural studies research within English studies, particularly in areas relevant to the course subject
K_W04 characterize on an advanced level the principles of research design in literary and culture studies with special focus on the application of methods and tools in formulating research problems, especially in areas relevant to the course subject
K_W05 identify the notions and principles pertinent to intellectual property and copyright
Abilities
Students will be able to:
K_U01 apply advanced terminology and notions pertinent to the discipline (literary studies, culture and religion studies)
K_U02 apply advanced research methodology within literary and culture studies and English studies, respecting ethical norms and copyright law.
K_U03 apply knowledge obtained during the course to account for and solve a problem, thereby completing a research task related to the discipline of literary studies and/or culture and religion studies
K_U04 analyse literary and cultural phenomena and draw generalizations on their basis in the context of societal, historical and economic factors on an advanced level
K_U05 discern alternative methodological paradigms within the discipline of literary studies, culture and religion studies
K_U06 find information in various sources and critically assess its usefulness for research
Social competences
Students will be ready to:
K_K02 apply knowledge and skills obtained during the course to undertake lifelong learning, as well as personal and professional development
K_K03 take responsibility for performing one’s professional duties, with due respect for the work of others, obey and develop the ethical norms in professional and academic settings related to the disciplines included on the curriculum of English studies
K_K04 assess critically one’s own knowledge and skills related to the course
K_K06 value cultural heritage and cultural diversity as well as individual opinions
Assessment criteria
—active participation in classes
—two mid-term tests (passing score: 60%)
2 absences are allowed.
Students who did not take or failed their tests may retake them during the resit examination session.
Bibliography
Blake, Laurel. “Star Turn? Magazine, Part-Issue, and Book Serialisation.” Victorian Periodicals Review, vol. 34, no. 3 (fall 2001), pp. 208–227.
Casey, Ellen. ‘“That Specially Trying Mode of Publication’: Dickens as Editor of the Weekly Serial.” Victorian Periodicals Review, vol. 14, no. 3 (fall 1981), pp. 93–10.
Sanders, Andrew. Authors in Context: Charles Dickens. OUP, 2003.
Schlicke, Paul. The Oxford Companion to Charles Dickens. OUP, 2011.
Tange, Andrea Kaston. “Becoming a Victorian Reader: The Serial Reading Process in the Modern Classroom.” Victorian Periodicals Review, vol. 39, no. 4 (winter 2006), pp. 330–342.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: