The Unreliable Narrator (Online) (10 credit points)

Course Times & Enrolment

This course is currently unavailable.

Course Summary

Wayne C. Booth first identified the difference between a reliable and unreliable narrator as part of his reader-centred approach to critical thinking in the 1960s. The unreliable narrator has, however, been around for a great deal longer than that in literature. We will study a number of examples which explore different categories of unreliable narrator from narrators motivated by a desire to hide the truth to narrators whose memories are fallible to narrators who may or may not exist. Our discussions will turn on how the reader builds a relationship with an unreliable narrator and whether or not our bond of trust with our touchstone in a novel is finally compromised by their unreliability.

Course Details

Pre-requisites for enrolment

Students will need to be able to confidently use videoconferencing software and be comfortable with using websites.

Special Information

In order to participate in this course, you will need access to a computer with a speaker, microphone and a good internet connection. An internet browser is required to access the online learning platform. Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are the recommended browsers.

Content of Course

Week 1 and Week 2: Religion, the devil, madness and mayhem: A discussion of the intricacies of James Hogg's novel of trickery, Memoirs and Confessions.
Text: James Hogg: The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

Week 3 and Week 4: 'No, wait. I've got that wrong' (Frayn, Spies): A discussion of the naivety of the child narrator and its impact on events in the adult world.
Text: Michael Frayn: Spies

Week 5 and Week 6: 'This is the saddest story I have ever heard.' (Ford, The Good Soldier): A discussion of Ford's famously passionless narrator and his version of other people's passions.
Text: Ford Madox Ford: The Good Soldier

Week 7 and Week 8: The rational doctor and the ghost story: an exploration of Sarah Waters' rational doctor narrator and his engagement with the ghostly happenings at Hundreds Hall.
Text: Sarah Waters: The Little Stranger

Week 9 and Week 10: Chief Bromden, The Combine and Big Nurse: A discussion of Kesey's novel set in a mental hospital in which one of the patients is the novel's narrator.
Text: Ken Kesey: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

Teaching method(s)

This course will be delivered via live online sessions.

Lectures, seminar-style discussion and small group work.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

Discuss texts confidently;
Assess literature based, to a certain extent, on their own close reading;
Place literature in its historical context;
Discuss the various ways in which authors use an unreliable narrator to inject suspense and offer alternative viewpoints on events.

Sources

Core Readings

Students should not purchase books until the course is confirmed to run, and their teacher instructs them to do so.

Essential:

Hogg, James 2010. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Oxford: Oxford World's Classics.
Frayn, Michael 2002. Spies. London: Faber.
Ford, Ford Madox 2012. The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion. Oxford: Oxford World's Classics.
Kesey, Ken 2002. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Waters, Sarah 2009. The Little Stranger. London: Virago.

Recommended:

Mullan, John 2008. How Novels Work. Oxford: OUP.
Booth, Wayne C., 1995. The Rhetoric of Fiction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Assessments

10 credit courses have one assessment. Normally, the assessment is a 2000 word essay, worth 100% of the total mark, submitted by week 12. To pass, students must achieve a minimum of 40%. There are a small number of exceptions to this model which are identified in the Studying for Credit Guide.

Studying for Credit

If you choose to study for credit you will need to allocate significant time outwith classes for coursework and assessment preparation. Credit points gained from this course can count towards the Certificate of Higher Education.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.