Great Literature 105 - Political Novels
A rigorous exploration of power, ideology, and the state. This course examines how the novel functions as a tool for political critique, from classic dystopias to nuanced studies of populism and bureaucracy.
🎯 Goals & Constraints
- Analyze Power Structures: Examine how literature depicts totalitarianism, democracy, and revolutionary change.
- The Novel as Satire: Understand how allegory and irony are used to critique political regimes.
- Philosophical Depth: Connect literary works to political theory (Orwellian control, Huxleyan conditioning, Kafkaesque bureaucracy).
- Graduate Level Depth: Focus on complex narratives that challenge the status quo.
📚 Core Reading List (Finalized)
- 1984 — George Orwell ⚪ Not Started
- Animal Farm — George Orwell ⚪ Not Started
- Brave New World — Aldous Huxley ⚪ Not Started
- Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury ⚪ Not Started
- Darkness at Noon — Arthur Koestler ⚪ Not Started
- All the King’s Men — Robert Penn Warren ⚪ Not Started
- Invisible Man — Ralph Ellison ⚪ Not Started
- The Quiet American — Graham Greene ⚪ Not Started
- The Trial — Franz Kafka ⚪ Not Started
- Catch-22 — Joseph Heller ⚪ Not Started
🧠 Political Themes Covered
- Totalitarianism & Surveillance: The state’s control over the individual (Orwell, Koestler).
- Social Conditioning: The use of technology and pleasure to maintain order (Huxley, Bradbury).
- Populism & Power: The rise of the demagogue in democracy (Warren).
- The Politics of Identity: Race, visibility, and institutional power (Ellison).
- Bureaucracy & The Law: The absurdity of the faceless state (Kafka, Heller).
- Geopolitics & Empire: International intervention and moral ambiguity (Greene).
🗓️ Syllabus Structure
This course is designed as a 20-week intensive reading plan.
Unit I: The Dystopian Mirror (Weeks 1-8)
Focus: Totalitarian control and resistance.
- Weeks 1-2: 1984 & Animal Farm (The Orwellian Foundation)
- Weeks 3-4: Brave New World (Soft Totalitarianism)
- Weeks 5-6: Fahrenheit 451 (Censorship and the Mind)
- Weeks 7-8: Darkness at Noon (The Interiority of the Purge)
Unit II: Power, People, and Perception (Weeks 9-14)
Focus: Politics in the “Real” World.
- Weeks 9-10: All the King’s Men (American Populism)
- Weeks 11-12: Invisible Man (Race as a Political Construct)
- Weeks 13-14: The Quiet American (Imperialism vs Nationalism)
Unit III: The Absurdist State (Weeks 15-20)
Focus: Bureaucracy, Law, and the System.
- Weeks 15-17: The Trial (State Power and Guilt)
- Week 18-20: Catch-22 (Institutionalized Absurdity)
This syllabus is finalized for Great Literature 105.