The Political Novel · English And Comparative Literature
LOT of reading. Normally about a novel a week, which rounds out to like 250-300 pages. A 1-2 page response to the reading is expected, but if you do even a third of the reading you should have no problem getting this done: these books are quite dense. The only thing that is graded beyond your participation in the course is a 12-15 page final paper, but the prompt is so vague that you can basically write about whatever you want as long as it relates to literature. Not even the literature from this course: just literature in general.
It was fascinating to look at novels in a political light. It was equally fascinating to look at the mechanics of novels. Prof Robbins was really good at helping everyone look beyond the surface level of the works.
Bruce Robbins is opinionated, witty, and headstrong, with an intense passion for a deep understanding of literature and how it reflects society beyond content but within character and the very philosophy of creating a novel with certain perspectives. This seminar may be titled "The Political Novel," but I don't know that the politics behind the reading list (featuring Dostoevsky, Woolf, Melville, and other world classics) are the determining factor in many of the discussions we had in this course. Rather, a focus on the characters and their embodiments of social movements or perspectives of the time from a political standpoint (or perhaps not) really factored in heavily.
weekly 1-2 page responses to the reading, 1 final paper. Responses are not graded but he gives super detailed feedback on each one, genuinely engaging with what you had to say about the book. It's great because even if you don't speak up in a particular class, you still get the chance to engage in a kind of discussion with him about the reading. Longer books are spread over 2 weeks, but for <300 pages, it's a novel a week.
As mentioned above, all the ingredients of the course were phenomenal. I do have some reservations about combining Professor Robbins' literary criticism based work and Professor Pamuk's creative writing work in one course. I would love to see the course slightly tweaked so that both approaches helped the whole in a clearer manner. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2021 Course: ENGLUN3805_001_2021_3-ThePoliticalNovel : ENGLUN3805_001_2021_3 - The Political Novel Instructor: Orhan Pamuk
This was my second class with Professor Robbins and I was so glad to be taking it again. He is brilliant, hilarious, and extremely understanding. He and Orhan Pamuk also have a hilarious dynamic because they have such different readings of so many of the novels on the syllabus, which makes it incredibly entertaining (and also generates greater discussion as it allows us to disagree with them and each other more easily). His passion for literature is infectious and he is so good at generating thoughtful discussion.
We do a book a week (usually), and books are between 250 and 450 pages. I'm a SINGULARLY slow reader so I spent 10 to 15 hours on this class per week (including class time), but I know that's unrealistic for some, and you can definitely get by with much less! Apart from the final paper (12-15 pages), there are 2 page (double-spaced) reflections due every week before class, but I believe those are just graded on submission, so you really decide how much you get out of this class. I could have dedicated a couple hours a week to those assignments and been fine, probably. NOTE: ¡¡¡¡HE IS A HARSH GRADER!!!!
We learned some important lenses, skills, and terms for analyzing literature, while reading several fantastic novels spanning the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
The readings are challenging (in length, not content) and the contributions in class can be very controversial, but there is no bad blood whatsoever. I've heard my classmates say things that genuinely angered me, but Professor Robbins was unfailingly encouraging and respectful. I will be looking for teachers like him till the day I graduate. Maybe till the day I die! I'm a big fan. My one criticism is that we don't always tackle the elephant in the room head on. I know he prefers that we take the reins, but on the occasions when we don't, it would help for the teacher to start us off.
LOTS of reading. Weekly 1-2 page (double spaced) journal entries responding to the reading. Final 10-12 page paper