Parkes, Adam
MWF 10:20 AM
Park Hall 0144
This course offers an introduction to one of the greatest writers of prose fiction in the English language. We will begin with Joyce’s early fictional works, Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, before undertaking a detailed, episode-by-episode reading of his masterpiece: Ulysses.
Once called "the most dangerous book," Ulysses is famously difficult, but fear not: the rewards are well worth the effort. Reading Joyce's peerless modern comedy will make you laugh, it will make you cry; you will scratch your head, you may well grimace, revolt even; but before you know it you will find yourself laughing again. There is nothing like complete immersion in the various stylistic worlds of Joyce's fiction. All you need is an open mind and a desire to read and re-read.
It's a good idea to give Ulysses a preliminary reading during the winter break, but otherwise no prior knowledge of Joyce or of modernism will be expected.
The following paperbacks are required:
James Joyce, Dubliners (Penguin, 1993). ISBN: 978-0140186475
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Penguin, 2003). 978-0142437346
James Joyce, Ulysses (Vintage, 1990). 978-0679722762
And these two are recommended (the first is a guide to Ulysses, the second a brief biography of Joyce):
Hugh Kenner, Ulysses (Johns Hopkins UP, 1987). 978-0801833847
Andrew Gibson, James Joyce (Reaktion, 2006). 1-86189-277-2