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The so-called Second Scottish Renaissance is frequently said to have climaxed with writings such as Alasdair Gray's postmodern metafiction or Irvine Welsh's shocking social realism. Scottish fiction today is considered as relating to a new historical period – rethinking life in Scotland, Scottish identity, etc. after the Scottish devolution. In the course of this seminar we will study a variety of contemporary fiction of the last decade (roughly), starting off with Welsh, Kelman and A.L. Kennedy before we move on to works such as Alexander McCall-Smith’s witty satires of Edinburgh’s middle-class, Kate Atkinson’s inventive narratives, and, ultimately, John Burnside, who fuses dystopia, dark realism and a technique of obsessive monologue.
Selected texts will be available on the “Semesterapparat” (details via email after registration). Please also get your own copies of the following and start reading ASAP:
Kate Atkinson – Human Croquet
John Burnside – Glister
Ali Smith – There But For The
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