We will devote the semester to one extraordinarily demanding and rewarding text, James Joyce's Ulysses, and to various critical perspectives upon it. Early sessions will take up questions traditionally asked of novels, regarding characterization, themes, style, structure, setting, and narration. Soon, though, we will turn to more complex and problematic issues peculiar to this vexing text: the status of the author and authority, tension between sacred and profane, multiplicity and confusion of perspectives, the melange of genres and styles, the mix of high purpose and low antics, the significance of popular culture, the politics of gender, and the competition among the novel's traditional, modernist, and post-modernist instincts. In the second half of the semester, students will confer individually with the instructor and pursue independent research projects. The heart of the course is a substantial paper, exploring Ulysses from some interpretive vantage point, such as biographical, feminist, post-structuralist, religious, or humanist. In the last few weeks, the class will reconvene to discuss each paper and to work toward a deeper understanding of the sources, nature, and variety of critical debate. Prerequisite: a 100-level English course, except 150. Enrollment limit:20. (Post-1900)