Concurrent with the undergraduate capstone, English 430a, Major Works by Charles Dickens. Graduate students will develop and discuss strategies for researching and teaching the literary and cultural dimensions of the assigned readings. Here is the undergraduate course description:
In thirty-five productive years Dickens published fourteen novels, a number of shorter works such as A Christmas Carol, two travel books, and considerable journalism. The most popular novelist of his day (1835-1870), he remains second only to Shakespeare among English writers read now around the world, constantly attracting biographical and critical commentary.
Required readings will be A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Bleak House, and Great Expectations. Students, individually or in small groups, will develop a research topic ( involving content, theme, or style with the assigned texts as focal points). In addition to material in the four required texts, I will provide bibliographical citations to Dickens criticism and biography, as well as assistance with individual topics. Research can also involve hands-on work with rare Dickens materials in UW special collections. The final 15-20 page paper will be due the last day of class, and for a midterm students will submit prospectus for the longer paper.