CLAS 018 SC - The Ancient Novel and Romance

The dominant modern literary genre, the novel, finds its origins in ancient popular romances of wanderings and happy endings. Students will read the novels and romances of Longus, Heliodorus, Chariton, Lucian, Apuleius, and others, with attention to historical context, the nature of the genre, readership, and narratology. Special emphasis will be placed on the origins and nature of the novel, with a look at Homer’s Odyssey and Euripides’ romances as well as theorists including Bakhtin.

Course Credit: 1.0

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