BILDUNGSROMAN: THE COMING-OF-AGE NOVEL

The bildungsroman is the modern, realist version of the hero’s quest. Instead of slaying dragons and weaving spells, the protagonist of the bildungsroman struggles with what it means to become an adult – or to refuse to. Also known as the novel of development or coming-of-age novel, the bildungsroman typically focuses on growth and development, the cultivation of the self, marriage and vocation. It is a form marked by conflicts and tensions: between the individual and society, between idealism and realism, rebellion and compromise, dreamy inertia and future-oriented action.

The reading list spans works from Europe and the United States, from the 1790s through the 2010s. Lectures will focus on the novel as a literary form in dialogue with other literary works, with historical events, and with ideas drawn from philosophy, psychology, and sociology.

Lectures will address: What fosters human development and what thwarts it? What is a self and what is a life course? How do coming-of-age novels engage with social norms concerning love, work, personhood, and maturity? And how has this literary genre itself changed and developed over time?

This is a 3-point lecture course. In accordance with university guidelines, you should expect to spend about six hours per week outside of class doing the course reading, which will consist entirely of novels and vary from ~150 to ~200 pages per week, and doing the assignments.