COMP 139(F,S) Metafiction (Same as English 139) (W)

ENGL 139(F,S) Metafiction (Same as Comparative Literature 139) (W)
This course will examine ways in which diverse works make use of their status as inventions on a page. We will look at the formal pleasures and interpretive puzzles generated by metafictional techniques including frame narratives, repetition, and readerly address in texts ranging from Harold and the Purple Crayon to such canonical works as Don Quixote, Lolita and One Hundred Years of Solitude. Might narrative self-consciousness operate as a form of error-correcting code within the artificial intelligence of the novel?
Format: discussion/seminar. Requirements: five papers of increasingly complexity, totaling 24 pages; consistent attendance and participation; a willingness to reread.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 19). Preference given to first-year students.
Hour: First Semester: ROSENHEIM Second Semester: ROSENHEIM