Handbook

This course explores the nature of reading over a range of periods and literary contexts, from the Renaissance to the present-day. Introducing students to some of the landmark texts in the history of reading, “What is reading?” aims to familiarize students with key debates in literary studies. How does reading figure in literary texts, and how have writers used scenes of reading to produce their ‘ideal’ reader? What forms do such readers take and what forces (ideological, aesthetic, political) are behind them? In this self-reflexive, intensive course, with an emphasis on in-class participation, students will explore their own readerly desire as we come together to debate the nature and emergence of meaning in literature. The course will also give students opportunities to put different approaches to reading into practice.