BM207202 Lecture of the English Novel

Hiroshima University Syllabus

Japanese

Academic Year 2026Year School/Graduate School School of Letters

Lecture Code BM207202 Subject Classification Specialized Education

Subject Name イギリス小説講義

Subject Name
（Katakana）イギリスショウセツコウギ

Subject Name in
English Lecture of the English Novel

Instructor To be announced.

Instructor
(Katakana) タントウキョウインミテイ

Campus Higashi-Hiroshima Semester/Term 2nd-Year, Second Semester, 3Term

Days, Periods, and Classrooms (3T) Thur5-8：LET B102

Lesson Style Lecture Lesson Style
(More Details) Online (simultaneous interactive)

Lecture, Discussion

Credits 2.0 Class Hours/Week 4 Language of Instruction B : Japanese／English

Course Level 2 : Undergraduate Low-Intermediate

Course Area（Area） 23 : Arts and Humanities

Course Area（Discipline） 05 : Literature

Eligible Students

Keywords England, Literature, History, Culture

Special Subject for Teacher Education 　 Special Subject 　

Class Status
within Educational
Program
(Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Criterion referenced
Evaluation
(Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students) British, American, and European Languages and Literatures, and Linguistics
（Abilities and Skills）
・Acquisition of the reading comprehension skills on British and American, German, and French literatures and languages, and other languages

Class Objectives
/Class Outline This course explores how English novels have been written, published, and read within particular historical and cultural contexts.　In the first half of the course, we examine issues of publication, editing, and censorship from the Victorian period to the present, and learn to view the novel as a cultural construct rather than a self-evident form of expression.　In the second half, students will study basic concepts of narratology—such as narrator, point of view, and narrative discourse—and apply them in close readings of literary texts.　By the end of the course, students will be able to explain, in their own words, why a given novel is written and textualised in a particular way, and how readers are (mis)guided toward certain ways of reading.

Class Schedule Lesson 1: Introduction
From Context to Text
Course overview, course policies, use of Zoom, and technical check.

Lesson 2: The Novel as a Cultural Construct (1)
Editors and readers as ‘censors’
Case study: Japanese manga and Victorian novels

Lesson 3: The Novel as a Cultural Construct (2)
Editorial intervention: what was revised, and why.
How intervention transforms a text and its possible readings.
Case study: Thomas Hardy, ‘Barbara of the House of Grebe’

Lesson 4: The Novel as a Cultural Construct (3)
Readers as ‘censors’: what readers rejected, and why.
Case study: authors’ and editors’ letters and contemporary reader responses

Lesson 5: The Novel as a Cultural Construct (4)
Sensitivity readers and contemporary revision practices
Case study: Roald Dahl, Matilda (Chapter 1).

Lesson 6: Is Intervention Justifiable?
Discussion.

Lesson 7: How Should We Engage with the Novel as a Cultural Construct?
Essay writing practice.

Lesson 8: From Context to Text
What is an unreliable narrator?

Lesson 9: First-Person Narrative (1)
The “unreliable” narrator?
Case study: Kazuo Ishiguro, ‘A Family Supper’

Lesson 10: First-Person Narrative (2)
The “reliable” narrator?
Why do readers tend to trust narrators?
Case study: Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day (Chapter 1)

Lesson 11: Third-Person Narrative (1)
Is the omniscient narrator objective? Narrative perspective
Case study: Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (Chapters 1–2)

Lesson 12: Third-Person Narrative (2)
Is the omniscient narrator truly omniscient?
Case study: Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (Chapters 3–4)

Lesson 13: Third-Person Narrative (3)
Modes of speech: direct, indirect, and free indirect discourse
Case studies: Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf

Lesson 14: The “Death” of the Third-Person Narrator
From the modern novel to contemporary fiction: a concluding discussion

Lesson 15: Conclusion
Report submission (details to be provided in class)

Text/Reference
Books,etc. This course does not use a single textbook; instead, the following selected texts will be provided as handouts.
Thomas Hardy, ‘Barbara of the House of Grebe’, Graphic, 1890.
---. ‘Barbara of the House of Grebe’, 1891. Wessex Edition, Macmillan, 1912.
---. The Mayor of Casterbridge, 1886. Wessex Edition, Macmillan, 1912.
Roald Dahl, Matilda, 1988. Puffin, 2023.
---. Matilda, 1988. Penguin, 2024.
Rudyard Kipling, ‘The White Man’s Burden’, 1899.
Joseph Conrad, ‘Heart of Darkness’, 1899.
Kazuo Ishiguro, ‘A Family Supper’, 1980.
---. The Remains of the Day, 1989.
Reference book: Uehara Sanae, The Social Censorship: Victorian Morality and Thomas Hardy, Nagoya University Press, 2025.

PC or AV used in
Class,etc. Text, Zoom

(More Details)

Learning techniques to be incorporated Discussions, Post-class Report

Suggestions on
Preparation and
Review Lesson 1: Preparation: Read the syllabus and confirm the objectives and structure of the course; Review: Organise the overall structure of the course and its learning goals.

Lesson 2: Preparation: Read the handouts and consider how novels are produced and circulated as cultural products; Review: The roles of editors and readers in the formation of literary texts.

Lesson 3: Preparation: Read the assigned text and check the revised sections; Review: Organise what has changed through editorial intervention.

Lesson 4: Preparation: Reread the text discussed in the previous class; Review: Reflect on how different versions of a text invite different readings.

Lesson 5: Preparation: Read the assigned sections and identify the revised passages; Review: Organise the intentions behind the revisions and their effects.

Lesson 6: Preparation: Reread the text in light of the previous discussion; Review: Summarise your own view on whether such interventions can be justified.

Lesson 7: Preparation: Review the contents covered so far; Review: Organise key points and issues in preparation for writing a short paper.

Lesson 8: Preparation: Read the handouts and review the concept of the narrator; Review: Organise the key features of unreliable narrator(s).

Lesson 9: Preparation: Read the assigned short story; Review: Review the narrator’s perspective and mode of narration.

Lesson 10: Preparation: Read the assigned chapter, paying attention to the act of narration; Review: Organise possible reasons why readers tend to trust the narrator.

Lesson 11: Preparation: Read the assigned sections with attention to the narrator’s position; Review: Organise the main characteristics of third-person narrative.

Lesson 12: Preparation: Reread the text in light of the previous discussion; Review: Summarise your understanding of the concept of the ‘omniscient’ narrator.

Lesson 13: Preparation: Read the handouts and review different modes of speech representation; Review: Organise the effects of each narrative mode.

Lesson 14: Preparation: Review the texts discussed throughout the course; Review: Organise how narrative techniques change across different periods.

Lesson 15: Preparation: Review the contents of the entire course; Review: Organise key issues in preparation for writing the final report.

Requirements

Grading Method In-class activities (40%), report (60%)

Practical Experience

Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it

Message

Other

Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes.
Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching.

Academic Year	2026Year	School/Graduate School	School of Letters
Lecture Code	BM207202	Subject Classification	Specialized Education
Subject Name	イギリス小説講義
Subject Name （Katakana）	イギリスショウセツコウギ
Subject Name in English	Lecture of the English Novel
Instructor	To be announced.
Instructor (Katakana)	タントウキョウインミテイ
Campus	Higashi-Hiroshima	Semester/Term	2nd-Year, Second Semester, 3Term
Days, Periods, and Classrooms	(3T) Thur5-8：LET B102
Lesson Style	Lecture	Lesson Style (More Details)	Online (simultaneous interactive)
Lecture, Discussion
Credits	2.0	Class Hours/Week	4	Language of Instruction	B : Japanese／English
Course Level	2 : Undergraduate Low-Intermediate
Course Area（Area）	23 : Arts and Humanities
Course Area（Discipline）	05 : Literature
Eligible Students
Keywords	England, Literature, History, Culture
Special Subject for Teacher Education		Special Subject
Class Status within Educational Program (Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Criterion referenced Evaluation (Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)	British, American, and European Languages and Literatures, and Linguistics （Abilities and Skills）・Acquisition of the reading comprehension skills on British and American, German, and French literatures and languages, and other languages
Class Objectives /Class Outline	This course explores how English novels have been written, published, and read within particular historical and cultural contexts.　In the first half of the course, we examine issues of publication, editing, and censorship from the Victorian period to the present, and learn to view the novel as a cultural construct rather than a self-evident form of expression.　In the second half, students will study basic concepts of narratology—such as narrator, point of view, and narrative discourse—and apply them in close readings of literary texts.　By the end of the course, students will be able to explain, in their own words, why a given novel is written and textualised in a particular way, and how readers are (mis)guided toward certain ways of reading.
Class Schedule	Lesson 1: Introduction From Context to Text Course overview, course policies, use of Zoom, and technical check. Lesson 2: The Novel as a Cultural Construct (1) Editors and readers as ‘censors’ Case study: Japanese manga and Victorian novels Lesson 3: The Novel as a Cultural Construct (2) Editorial intervention: what was revised, and why. How intervention transforms a text and its possible readings. Case study: Thomas Hardy, ‘Barbara of the House of Grebe’ Lesson 4: The Novel as a Cultural Construct (3) Readers as ‘censors’: what readers rejected, and why. Case study: authors’ and editors’ letters and contemporary reader responses Lesson 5: The Novel as a Cultural Construct (4) Sensitivity readers and contemporary revision practices Case study: Roald Dahl, Matilda (Chapter 1). Lesson 6: Is Intervention Justifiable? Discussion. Lesson 7: How Should We Engage with the Novel as a Cultural Construct? Essay writing practice. Lesson 8: From Context to Text What is an unreliable narrator? Lesson 9: First-Person Narrative (1) The “unreliable” narrator? Case study: Kazuo Ishiguro, ‘A Family Supper’ Lesson 10: First-Person Narrative (2) The “reliable” narrator? Why do readers tend to trust narrators? Case study: Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day (Chapter 1) Lesson 11: Third-Person Narrative (1) Is the omniscient narrator objective? Narrative perspective Case study: Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (Chapters 1–2) Lesson 12: Third-Person Narrative (2) Is the omniscient narrator truly omniscient? Case study: Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge (Chapters 3–4) Lesson 13: Third-Person Narrative (3) Modes of speech: direct, indirect, and free indirect discourse Case studies: Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf Lesson 14: The “Death” of the Third-Person Narrator From the modern novel to contemporary fiction: a concluding discussion Lesson 15: Conclusion Report submission (details to be provided in class)
Text/Reference Books,etc.	This course does not use a single textbook; instead, the following selected texts will be provided as handouts. Thomas Hardy, ‘Barbara of the House of Grebe’, Graphic, 1890. ---. ‘Barbara of the House of Grebe’, 1891. Wessex Edition, Macmillan, 1912. ---. The Mayor of Casterbridge, 1886. Wessex Edition, Macmillan, 1912. Roald Dahl, Matilda, 1988. Puffin, 2023. ---. Matilda, 1988. Penguin, 2024. Rudyard Kipling, ‘The White Man’s Burden’, 1899. Joseph Conrad, ‘Heart of Darkness’, 1899. Kazuo Ishiguro, ‘A Family Supper’, 1980. ---. The Remains of the Day, 1989. Reference book: Uehara Sanae, The Social Censorship: Victorian Morality and Thomas Hardy, Nagoya University Press, 2025.
PC or AV used in Class,etc.	Text, Zoom
(More Details)
Learning techniques to be incorporated	Discussions, Post-class Report
Suggestions on Preparation and Review	Lesson 1: Preparation: Read the syllabus and confirm the objectives and structure of the course; Review: Organise the overall structure of the course and its learning goals. Lesson 2: Preparation: Read the handouts and consider how novels are produced and circulated as cultural products; Review: The roles of editors and readers in the formation of literary texts. Lesson 3: Preparation: Read the assigned text and check the revised sections; Review: Organise what has changed through editorial intervention. Lesson 4: Preparation: Reread the text discussed in the previous class; Review: Reflect on how different versions of a text invite different readings. Lesson 5: Preparation: Read the assigned sections and identify the revised passages; Review: Organise the intentions behind the revisions and their effects. Lesson 6: Preparation: Reread the text in light of the previous discussion; Review: Summarise your own view on whether such interventions can be justified. Lesson 7: Preparation: Review the contents covered so far; Review: Organise key points and issues in preparation for writing a short paper. Lesson 8: Preparation: Read the handouts and review the concept of the narrator; Review: Organise the key features of unreliable narrator(s). Lesson 9: Preparation: Read the assigned short story; Review: Review the narrator’s perspective and mode of narration. Lesson 10: Preparation: Read the assigned chapter, paying attention to the act of narration; Review: Organise possible reasons why readers tend to trust the narrator. Lesson 11: Preparation: Read the assigned sections with attention to the narrator’s position; Review: Organise the main characteristics of third-person narrative. Lesson 12: Preparation: Reread the text in light of the previous discussion; Review: Summarise your understanding of the concept of the ‘omniscient’ narrator. Lesson 13: Preparation: Read the handouts and review different modes of speech representation; Review: Organise the effects of each narrative mode. Lesson 14: Preparation: Review the texts discussed throughout the course; Review: Organise how narrative techniques change across different periods. Lesson 15: Preparation: Review the contents of the entire course; Review: Organise key issues in preparation for writing the final report.
Requirements
Grading Method	In-class activities (40%), report (60%)
Practical Experience
Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it
Message
Other
Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes. Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching.

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