2020 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Humanities and social science courses
Literature B
- Academic unit or major
- Humanities and social science courses
- Instructor(s)
- Kenichiro Isozaki
- Class Format
- Lecture (Zoom)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 1-2 Mon (W521) / 1-2 Thu (W521)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAH.H204
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2020
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
In this course, students will learn “What fiction is” by reading a variety of literary fiction; from the classics and early modern novels to modern Japanese novels.
We will look at the origin of fiction, from the classics to early modern and modern novels, and analyze the special features of each. Students in this course will study “At what time did what writer start expressing themselves with novels and why” with the professor, actually a novelist himself, showing students his own idea of what a novel is. We will not only look at novels from a literary perspective, but also look at the novel itself and think about what the novelist thought while writing the piece, what they aimed for, and what their goal was.
Course description and aims
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Explain the development flow of novels.
2) Have an understanding of the junction of the classic and modern novels and explain it with specific examples of an author and their work.
3) Acquire a sense of closeness and respect towards novels by looking at various novels.
Keywords
Literature, modern literature, history of literature
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
In each class, the instructor will introduce a work of literary fiction. Handouts are given out when necessary.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Guidance | |
| Class 2 | Classics | Read "Iliad", "Gospel", and "Don Quixote" |
| Class 3 | Read Hawthorne | Read "Wakefield" |
| Class 4 | Read Flaubert | Read Madame Bovary and understand the depiction of the piece |
| Class 5 | Read novels of the 20th century | Read Joyce, Proust, Virginia Woolf, Musil |
| Class 6 | Read Kafka (1) | Understand how Kafka's novels differ from novels that came before him. |
| Class 7 | Read Kafka (2) | Understand how Kafka's novels differ from novels that came before him. |
| Class 8 | Read Kafka (3) | Understand how Kafka's novels differ from novels that came before him. |
| Class 9 | Read Kafka (4) | Understand how Kafka's novels differ from novels that came before him. |
| Class 10 | Read J.L.Borges "Ficciones" | Read "The south" and think of the relation between dreams and novels. |
| Class 11 | Read Anton Chekhov | Study short stories of Chekhov. |
| Class 12 | Read Garcia=Marquez | Analyze "One Hundred Years of Solitude" |
| Class 13 | Read Latin America novels | Analyze Latin American short stories |
| Class 14 | Read Modern Japanese novels | |
| Class 15 |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
None. Handouts will be given if necessary
Reference books, course materials, etc.
None
Evaluation methods and criteria
Participance, speaking in class (25%)
Final Report (75%)
Related courses
- LAH.H104 ： Literature A
- LAH.H304 ： Literature C
Prerequisites
None, however students who took "Birth of fiction 1" in 2015 cannot take this class.
Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).
isozaki.k.ac[at]m.titech.ac.jp
Office hours
Contact by e-mail in advance. Office West Bldg.9 Rm803.