This seminar focuses on contemporary British novels, that is those published from the 1990s to the present. Its aim is to provide students with an overview of recent developments in British fiction and its major themes and tendencies.
The seminars revolve around moderated discussion and critical reflection of selected novels, in combination with students' teaching presentations based on the formal as well as thematic aspects of the discussed works. These are chosen by students from a presented list including authors such as Ian McEwan, Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, Peter Ackroyd, Kazuo Ishiguro, Graham Swift, Will Self, John Banville, Anne Enright, Hanif Kureishi, Monica Ali, Zadie Smith, Jim Crace, Adam Thirlwell, Pat Barker, A.S.
Byatt, Sarah Waters, Allan Hollinghurst and Simon Mawer, out of which 3-4 titles are worked with during the course.