Working group on the novel

In conjunction with the Stanford Humanities Center, the Center for the Study of the Novel at Stanford established a Working Group on the Novel.  Its purpose is to provide a forum for established and emerging scholars whose work engages the history and theory of the novel to discuss their scholarship. In so doing, the Working Group aims to create a community of scholars and to facilitate an ongoing discussion of the novel and novel studies throughout the year.Among the group’s goals is to address the shift in novel studies toward less canonical European and American texts and toward non-Western national, cultural and linguistic traditions.

The Working Group meets roughly three times per quarter. Meetings include discussion of a specific novel, or section of a novel, that forms the background for a work-in-progress, followed by a discussion of that work. In 2010-11, we added meetings which focused on critical readings in the history and theory of the novel in order to promote the collective exploration and research of topics of interest under the auspices of the Center.

Ella Elbaz-Nir
Nicholas James Fenech
Victoria Susan Googasian
Mark Andrew Taylor