Postmodern historical fiction marks a new quality in the development of the historical novel in terms of the genesis of self-reflexive historiographic metafiction. We will examine the experimental character of the postmodern historical novel in the context of the reconceptualization of history and historiography as well as the narrative innovations of late 20th-century fiction. Moreover, we will trace both continuities and discontinuities in the long tradition of one of the most productive and popular sub-genres of the novel. Participants are expected to have read some of the following novels before the beginning of the semester: John Fowles, The French Lieutenant`s Woman (1969)Graham Swift, Waterland (1983)Julian Barnes, Flaubert`s Parrot (1984)Peter Ackroyd, Chatterton (1987)Jeanette Winterson, The Passion (1989)Julian Barnes, A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters (1989).A Reader with a selection of critical texts will be provided at the beginning of the semester. |
