This course will introduce you to several exemplary early novels (Lazarillo de Tormes; Don Quixote; The Pilgrim’s Progress; Joseph Andrews; and Tristram Shandy); in addition, you’ll read excerpts from works by Rabelais and Richardson, and some criticism. Discussions will focus on the poetics of the novel as a literary genre and the problems associated with its emergence in England. Our main objective is to read the primary texts, understand the main literary issues, and learn the critical vocabulary related to the genre of the novel. 329 is an upper-level English course with a heavy reading load (required novels and course pack add up to more than 2000 pages): you must read Part One of Don Quixote (pp. 1-479) before the first meeting (and will be tested). Requirements and grading: brief assignments on each major novel, quizzes, participation, attendance (20% of your course grade), midterm (40%), final examination (40%). Texts: Lazarillo de Tormes and The Swindler: Two Spanish Picaresque Novels (Penguin Classics); Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, tr. John Rutherford. (Penguin); John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress (Oxford, World’s Classics); Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews and Shamela (Norton Critical Edition); Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy (Penguin Classics).