090067 VO History of the Novel from Byzantium to the 19th Century (2019W)

In this course we will study the history of the Greek novel from the Byzantine period to the 19th century. We will start with major theories of the novel (G.W.F Hegel, György Lukács, Mikhail Bakhtin, Northrop Frye, Fredrich Jameson, and others) in order to emphasize the close link of the novel with its sociohistorical contexts. We will then discuss the transformation of the genre through time, with close readings of a selection of Greek novels (Livistros and Rodamni, Erotokritos, O Leandros, Pope Joan). Each time, we will place the Greek text in a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective (eg. Byzantine and Western romance of courtly love, Erotokritos and medical theories in the Renaissance).