Contemporary British and international fiction
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- Start Date: 17 Sep 2025End Date: 26 Nov 2025Wed (Daytime): 12:45 - 14:45In PersonLocation: Keeley StreetDuration: 10 sessions (over -11 weeks)Course Code: HLT16Tutors: Aamer HusseinFull fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00
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What is the course about?
This in-the-college course looks at novels that explore aspects of literature and the lives of writers, examining the contemporary perspective from which we reread and reinterpret classic texts, to bridge the gap between past and present.
What will we cover?
We explore a brief and careful selection of novels in English from several countries, diverse in style and genre, including from England, Piranesi, Susanna Clarke's mysterious and 'weird' tale of secrets and lost texts and William Boyd's Trio, which follows the life of an actress, a film producer, and a writer obsessed with the suicide of Virginia Woolf; from Ireland, Small Things Like These by Clare Keegan, in which a coal merchant becomes involved with the fate of a pregnant teenager trapped in a Magdalene Laundry; and from Australia, Michelle de Kretser's Theory and Practice follows the academic trajectory of a Sri Lankan feminist researching the novels of Woolf.
We will read the works of the novelists listed above; additional titles to be confirmed.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
-Discuss and analyse trends in contemporary English language novels by renowned British and international writers.
-Begin to understand various dimensions of culture and society in the novels.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
The course is to anyone interested in reading and discussing good fiction in general, and from the anglophone sphere in particular.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
The first session will introduce books and their authors to the group. In following sessions, brief opening lectures on each book will be followed by large group discussions with relevant questions, and interventions from the tutor. In the final session we will have a chance to discuss and evaluate all the works studied.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
You will need to buy or borrow:
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Trio by William Boyd
Small Things Like These by Clare Keegan
Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser
Additional title tbc.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Look for other fiction courses in the Literature programme under History,Culture and Writing/literature/fiction at www.citylit.ac.uk.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.