The course aims at exposing some of the many roles that the city, as a specific source of human experience, has played in literature from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. To some extent, the course also explores literature’s influence on how individual cities are seen and understood. Our analysis will make use of a number of viewpoints, some of them solidly rooted in socio-historical conditions and others more clearly based on metaphorical (or metonymical) approaches to the city. In addition to examining several stories set in well-known cities, we will take a look at urban studies as a field and find ways of using its perspectives in readings of literary texts.

During the last few weeks of the course, students will give presentations on a literary or cinematic text not included in course materials.

Assessment: class participation, a group presentation, and a course diary.

Note: If you have taken the Literary Landscapes course in or before 2013, there will be some overlap, as previously that course also touched upon city literature.