General Education Requirements
Course Description
The college campus is a fascinating place, where people from different backgrounds come together for different purposes. So it is no wonder that many novelists have turned their attention to the college campus as a setting for their novels. We know the setting. Or do we? Is it the traditional college quad, or a biology lab, or the world beyond campus that a college is supposed to prepare its students to enter? And what of the characters? Professors and students, of course, but also spouses, administrators, and all the myriad people who bring a college campus into vibrant life. In this Sophomore Seminar, we will read three fantastic campus novels—Stoner by John Williams, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and Real Life by Brandon Taylor—and use these three books as means of exploring big questions about the purpose of an undergraduate education: What has college traditionally been for, and what could it become in the future? Is it true that college campuses are bubbles, or are they places for deep inquiry and investigation? What role do the humanities play on campus and in the wider world? We’re certainly in the right place for considering these questions! If you’re excited about considering the above questions, and reading some beautiful novels while you’re at it, this is a good class for you. If you don’t believe me, listen to what one of the three authors we’ll be reading, Brandon Taylor, has to say about the campus novel:
“What I love about campus novels is how they provide a useful dramatic pretext to explore these big questions. In American society, the last time you’re allowed to have those questions is when you’re a student. We have this misconception that the minute you graduate, everything is figured out; you’ve come of age, so now you’re ready to get a job and do all the things. Campus novels are wonderful ready-mades to explore those questions of personhood and belonging, because in a lot of people’s lives, college was the last time where they felt themselves actively engaging those questions. That is, until they turn 25 and realize all their life was a mistake and they've got to read things. That’s usually when they end up going to graduate school.”
Meet the Instructor: Austin Smith
“I am a Jones Lecturer in the Creative Writing Department, and have been teaching at Stanford since 2014. I've taught Sophomore Seminars on the ‘Multigenerational Novel’ and ‘Novels About Childhood.’ I wanted to offer this class on the ‘Campus Novel’ in the fall quarter to think deeply about the purpose of an undergraduate education via three phenomenal college novels.”
