What do we
mean when we refer to the idea of ‘objective reality’? Does it exist or is it
obsolete in the context of our postmodern, post-reality world? Can it be
represented, and, if yes, how has this happened in literature and the arts? This
course will explore the complexity, slipperiness, and elasticity of the terms
‘real’ and ‘realism’ and trace their trajectory from the Age of Reason to our post-truth
era with emphasis on the novel. Although realist fiction is undoubtedly
committed to a historical particularity, as a form of mimesis realism can never
be identical with that which it represents, since its tools, i.e.,
language/words, can never function as flawless, objective mirrors. The serious
artistic treatment of ordinary people and their experience, linear plots,
omniscient narrators, and round characters are of course elements associated with
a realistic mode of representation. Yet, the British nineteenth-century realist
project is not explicit, this course aims to show, and British realist writers
seem to exploit narrative techniques in ways that acknowledge the impossibility
of a hundred percent objective representation or even question the nature of
reality. Although realism has been accused of promoting dominant power
structures, in its effort to project a recognizable image of society, we will
examine how it can also complicate and question the historical moments it
represents.
Course Objectives
to
familiarize students with the term ‘realism’ in art and the narrative
conventions of realism in literature
to acquaint students with the
socio-political context of the texts discussed, and explore how it is reflected
in them
through close textual analysis, to examine how
realism may be engaged in creative ways with other genres
to expose students to the
elasticity of the term and the criticism against it
to aid students to draw links between past
& present debates on reality and mimesis
