James Joyce (1882-1941)

ECTS allocation:                   20
Teaching Faculty:                 Prof Sam Slote
Contact:                                1 x 2 hours/week in Michaelmas term

Hilary Term: Weeks 1–6

This course will examine Ulysses from a variety of perspectives: Joyce as an ‘Irish writer'; Joyce as an ‘English writer'; Joyce as a ‘European writer'; the poetics of style and form; the politics of style and form; modes of ideology (race, religion, gender, and nation); framing a literary tradition; the production and reception of Modernism; etc. We will begin with A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and discuss that novel insofar as it leads towards Ulysses thematically and stylistically. We will also discuss the composition of Ulysses as is indicated on the NLI Ulysses drafts.

Main Bibliography:
James Joyce, Ulysses , ed. Hans Walter Gabler (London: the Bodley Head, 1993). I strongly recommend the Gabler edition.
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Any edition will suffice.

A comprehensive bibliography of secondary sources will be distributed at the beginning of the course.

Course Structure:
Week 1: A Portrait and Ulysses : ‘Telemachus' – ‘Nestor'
Week 2: Ulysses : ‘Proteus' – ‘Hades'
Week 3: Ulysses : ‘Æolus' – ‘Wandering Rocks'
Week 4: Ulysses : ‘Sirens' – ‘Oxen of the Sun'
Week 5: Ulysses : ‘Circe' – ‘Eumæus'
Week 6: Ulysses : ‘Ithaca' – ‘Penelope'