Blast from the Past: The Historical Novel

Catalog description

Focuses on a popular literary genre known as the historical novel. We will discuss its defining characteristics, cultural meanings, and basic differences from other types of fiction. We will also explore larger theoretical issues that are intricately related to the development and scope of the genre: the representation of the past and its relationship to the present; the creative integration of the gaps between factual history and lived experience; and finally the complex interaction between authenticity and fictionality, exemplarity and specificity, temporality and detachment. Authors include Flaubert, Yourcenar, Kadare, Pamuk, Calvino, Lampedusa, Roidis, and Galanaki.