Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and Literature Cairo University

FOURTH YEAR SELECTED TOPICS IN FICTION

THE POLITICAL NOVEL
DR. SONIA FARID
FALL 2019

Course overview:
The course is divided into two parts: theory and texts. The theoretical part will aim at
acquainting the students with the different definitions of the political novel, the emergence
and development of the genre, its main characteristics, the most prominent political
novelists, the role of censorship in dictatorships, how the political novel might overlap with
other subgenres (war novel, dictator novel… etc.), the link between political novels on one
hand and political essays and (auto)biographies on the other hand, and the
universality/timelessness of political novels. After completing the theoretical part, students
will study three texts through which they can apply the theoretical framework studied
earlier. They will be introduced to the political context of each novel, the historical event(s)
to which they are related, how politicized the writer is, how the novels can be linked to
current affairs. Through in-class activities and presentations, students will link between the
novels studied in the course and other literary texts that tackle similar concepts, political
ideologies, and/or share the same historical/ political context.

Theory:
Boyers, Robert. Atrocity and Amnesia: The Political Novel since 1945
Scheingold, Stuart A. The Political Novel: Re-Imagining the Twentieth Century.
Thoreau, Henry David. “Civil Disobedience.”
Le Bon, Gustav. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract.
Guérin, Daniel. Anarchism.
Excerpts from Che Guevara’s The Motorcycle Diaries and Nelson Mandela’s A Long Walk
to Freedom, Todd Strasser’s The Wave

Novels:
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451.
Penn Warren, Robert. All the King’s Men.
Lessing, Doris. The Good Terrorist.

Visual material:
Short movie: 2+2= 5

1
 Weekly planner
Week Material covered
Week 1 Introduction to politics and the concepts of democracy,
governance, citizenship, and authoritarianism
Introduction to the political novel

Week 2 Introduction to dystopia and political dystopic fiction

Political context and background of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit
451

Week 3 Analysis and discussion of Fahrenheit 451

Analysis and discussion of Fahrenheit 451

Week 4 Presentations
Thoreau, Henry David. “Civil Disobedience.”
Introduction to American politics, the Deep South, and the
concept of populism

Week 5 Analysis and discussion of All the King’s Men

Analysis and discussion of All the King’s Men

Week 6 Analysis and discussion of All the King’s Men

Presentations
Le Bon, Gustav. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind.

Week 7 Midterm exam

Introduction to terrorism, anarchism, and armed struggle

Week 8 Analysis and discussion of The Good Terrorist

Analysis and discussion of The Good Terrorist

Week 9 Analysis and discussion of The Good Terrorist

Presentations
Guérin, Daniel. Anarchism.

Week 10 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract

Readings from Che Guevara’s The Motorcycle Diaries and
Nelson Mandela’s A Long Walk to Freedom

Week 11 Readings from Todd Strasser’s The Wave

2+2+5 (screening and discussion)

Week 12 Wrap up

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