Historical Fictions/Fictional Histories
F05
Marguerite Feitlowitz
In this Writing Intensive Seminar, we consider the complexities of working with history in fiction. When, where, why, and how do facts abet and/or intrude on the creation of plot, character, place, framing, rhythm, and other details of style in novels and stories? How do questions of representation—selection and emphasis, vocabulary and tone, pacing and texture, affect the writing of history? What is the role of rationality in fiction? Of irrationality in history? On what basis do we extend our trust to the historian? To the fictional narrator? These are but a few of the questions we will ponder. Along with novels and stories (Dinesen, Yourcenar, Manzoni, Toibin, Appelfeld, Piglia, Sebald), we will read texts in which major historians describe, analyze, and meditate upon the practice of their discipline. In addition to critical papers, students will have the opportunity to write original historical fiction.