'Looking Straight at the world': Pat Barker's fictional vision

What is the course about?

This online literature course will introduce two of Barker’s novels, Union Street (1982) and Double Vision (2003), allowing us to explore how they depict her sense of duty as a writer who defiantly refuses to look away but, instead, insists on shining a light into society’s darker recesses. Barker refuses to turn a blind eye or offer a safe, comfortable space in her fictions. On the contrary, she challenges our comfort zones; she unsettles and disrupts so we may see and grasp what she regards as the urgency of giving voice to those otherwise silenced and erased by mainstream social conventions. It is not an entirely bleak outlook, though, as elements of solidarity and warmth provide glimpses of light and hope. With working-class realist fiction dominated by her male counterparts, Barker set out to redress the lack of representation of female experiences: with 1980s society witnessing industrial decline during the Thatcher era, Barker’s work also exposes the political fault lines of shifting gender roles in, for instance, Union Street. Or, like Stephen, her war correspondent hero in Double Vision, her fictional lens captures a duality of hostile gloom offset by redemptive affinity.

Critic John Brannigan considers Barker ‘one of the most important’ 20th/21st Century British writers, whose work evokes our human capacity ‘to find hope by looking into the depths of despair’.

What will we cover?

During this course, we will closely read two of Barker’s novels, discussing how her views of authorial responsibility play out in her fictional works. Refusing to see fiction as escapist luxury, she utilises the aesthetic space of the novel to scrutinise and magnify the corners of life often kept in the dark; in Double Vision, geopolitical conflicts impact upon both humanity’s brutality and divisions, yet also its capacity towards warmth and community. Our online classes will consider these two novels by paying close attention to key issues and themes including realism, symbolism, social class, women’s disempowerment, violence, conflict, home, work, characters, isolation, setting, narrative voice, hope and community.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

Have a knowledge of Pat Barker’s fiction, introducing books you may be unfamiliar with previously.

Have a knowledge of some major themes and issues explored in her work.

Gain an understanding of the importance of Barker’s position within British fiction.

Critically analyse these stories, developing a more confident engagement with reading.

Become a more active reader, so deepening your insight of these fictional works.

Acquire an awareness of the importance of secondary reading material in supporting your critical engagement.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

It is anticipated that you will have an interest in or even passion for literature, and a willingness to develop your critical enjoyment of Barker’s fiction, but no previous skills or knowledge are required for this course. Some preparatory reading will be necessary before each class, and a willingness to participate in class discussions, while also respectably listening and responding to others is desirable.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

This class will be held in 2 hr sessions over a four-week period. Each class will be divided into an interactive short lecture with power point, as well as large and small group workshop and discussion focussing on the texts in more detail. Class preparation in advance is required by reading the set texts and any supplementary reading provided for that session.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

Please obtain the following books:

Pat Barker, Union Street (Virago Modern Classics) and Double Vision (Penguin Modern Classics)

Any other material will be provided by the tutor.

N.B. Books can often be purchased second-hand on, for instance, Amazon.co.uk, wob.co.uk or Abebooks.co.uk)

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

The tutor will also be teaching HLT271 'Wild Places': Katherine Mansfield's imaginative worlds' starting on 7 October 2025. Look for other fiction courses in the Literature programme under Culture, History and Humanities at www.citylit.ac.uk.