Immersive study of an author, genre, form, or literary historical issue. Topics vary from term to term. Students should consult the department's "Announcement of Classes" for offerings well before the beginning of the term.

We will study the work of Nabokov as a novelist on two continents over a period of nearly sixty years. The course will be structured (more or less) chronologically and divided between novels translated from Russian and written in English. After beginning several short stories, we will examine some of the fiction of his European period, before turning our attention to Lolita and Pnin. Competing interpretations of Nabokov will be considered, but our emphasis will be on metafiction, the theme of perversity and Nabokov's cultivation of a perverse reader. “Curiously enough, one cannot read a book: one can only reread it.” Students should expect to devote a considerable amount of time to reading and rereading and should come to class prepared to discuss the assigned texts. Participants in the class should anticipate reading (and then, in a perfect world, curiously rereading) 150 pages per week. Written work will consist of two papers (5 to 10 pages) on topics to be chosen in consultation with the professor. Penalties will be assessed for late papers. There will be a midterm and a final examination.

Required Books:

Nabokov, Vladimir
Laughter in the Dark
The Defense
The Gift
Lolita
Pnin
Short Stories

Credit Restrictions

A deficient grade in English N166 may be removed by taking English 166.

Repeat Rules

Requirements class fulfills