Here's an interesting question: Is it possible to tell meaningful stories about the whole world-and not just about this or that place? If you're tempted to say yes, then try to make a list of such stories. It's harder than it sounds. You might call to mind the geographical horizon of classic European novels, which almost all unfold within the confines of either the city or the nation. Our question, then, will be: Can there be properly global stories, beyond city limits and the nation's borders? But then why, you might ask, does this matter? It is often remarked that one of the curious features of a global economy is its diffusion of power, which is less than ever concentrated in any one place. Can there be stories, then, that are similarly diffuse, stories that do not in the conventional sense have "settings," stable locations in which their plots take root? We will read a series of novels, from four different centuries, that give it their best shot. These will include Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim, China Mieville's Perdido Street Station, and Robert Newman's Fountain at the Center of the World. Format: discussion/seminar. Requirements: weekly writing assignments, two long essays, class participation. Prerequisites: a 100-level English course, except 150. Enrollment limit: 19 per section (expected: 19 per section). Preference given to first-year students, sophomores, and English majors who have yet to take a Gateway.

Hour: THORNE