Online Course: Fiction - Epics, Novels & Poetry by IIT Roorkee | Humanities
Course Details
| Exam Registration | 82 |
|---|---|
| Course Status | Ongoing |
| Course Type | Elective |
| Language | English |
| Duration | 12 weeks |
| Categories | Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit Points | 3 |
| Level | Undergraduate/Postgraduate |
| Start Date | 19 Jan 2026 |
| End Date | 10 Apr 2026 |
| Enrollment Ends | 02 Feb 2026 |
| Exam Registration Ends | 20 Feb 2026 |
| Exam Date | 19 Apr 2026 IST |
| NCrF Level | 4.5 — 8.0 |
Unlock the World of Fiction: A Journey Through Epics, Novels, and Short Stories
What makes a story timeless? How have narratives evolved from ancient epics to postmodern masterpieces? If you've ever been captivated by the adventures of Don Quixote, haunted by the existential dread in Kafka's Metamorphosis, or mesmerized by the magical realism of García Márquez, this course is your definitive guide. "Fiction: Epics, Novels and Poetry" is a comprehensive 12-week online program designed to dissect the very fabric of fictional narrative.
Led by the esteemed Prof. Sarbani Banerjee of IIT Roorkee, this course moves beyond simple literary appreciation. It equips you with the critical tools to understand the art, craft, and technique behind different forms of fiction, tracing their historical development and cultural impact.
Your Expert Instructor: Prof. Sarbani Banerjee
Learning from an expert shapes your understanding. This course is meticulously designed and delivered by Prof. Sarbani Banerjee, a scholar of exceptional caliber.
- Qualifications: Earned her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Western Ontario.
- Specializations: Her expertise spans Postcolonial literatures and theory, Canadian literature, Post-Partition Bengali literature and cinema, Diasporic writings, and Women’s studies.
- Recognition: A former Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Post Doctoral Fellow (UGC, 2017-20).
- Current Role: Assistant Professor of English in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Roorkee.
Her interdisciplinary approach ensures a rich, nuanced exploration of texts within their broader cultural and theoretical contexts.
Who Should Enroll in This Fiction Course?
This course is intentionally designed to be accessible and valuable to a wide range of learners.
- Undergraduate and Postgraduate students (BA, MA, BSc, MSc, BE, ME, MS, PhD).
- B.Ed. students seeking deeper literary knowledge.
- Avid readers and book club enthusiasts wanting structured analysis.
- Aspiring writers looking to understand genre mechanics.
- Anyone with a passion for world literature and critical thinking.
Prerequisite: A keen interest in literature. No specific prior degree is required.
Course Overview: What You Will Learn
Over 12 engaging weeks, you will embark on an intellectual journey through the landscape of fiction. The course is structured to build from foundational concepts to complex genre studies.
Detailed 12-Week Course Layout
| Week | Core Topic & Focus | Key Literary Texts |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to Genology: Genre theory, classical rules, and hybridity in practice. | Theoretical foundations. |
| Week 2 | Fiction & Narrative Modes: Comparing Epic vs. Novel—heroes, worldview, time & space. | Epic poetry excerpts. |
| Week 3 | The Birth of the Modern Novel: Polyglossia, history, and the novel hero. | Cervantes' Don Quixote. |
| Week 4 | Novel & Existence: Exploring consciousness and society. | Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Kafka's Metamorphosis. |
| Week 5 | Narrative Techniques: Plot, time, parody, intertextuality. | Dickens' David Copperfield, Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. |
| Week 6 | Tragedy & Absurdity: Language, communication, and existential futility. | Flaubert's Madame Bovary. |
| Week 7 | The Modernist Novel: Psyche, temporality, and stream of consciousness. | Joyce's Portrait... & Ulysses, Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. |
| Week 8 | The Modern Short Story: Brevity, identity, and disrupting the familiar. | Stories by Poe, Melville, Borges, Cortázar, Atwood, King. |
| Week 9 | Short Story vs. Novel: Comparative analysis of form, plot, and character. | Continued short story analysis. |
| Week 10 | Science Fiction: Origins, techno-culture, and feminist readings. | Shelley's Frankenstein, Swift's Gulliver’s Travels. |
| Week 11 | Magical Realism: From expressionism to postcolonial fabulation. | García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, Rushdie's Midnight’s Children. |
| Week 12 | The Future of Fiction: Digital age, new genres, and reading in translation. | Contemporary textual examples. |
Essential Reading: The Literary Canon You'll Explore
The course offers a stellar reading list, a veritable who's who of literary giants. You will engage with seminal texts that form the cornerstone of global literature:
- Novels: Don Quixote, Gulliver’s Travels, Frankenstein, David Copperfield, Madame Bovary, Crime and Punishment, Through the Looking-Glass, Metamorphosis, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, Mrs. Dalloway, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Midnight’s Children.
- Short Stories: Selected works by Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Margaret Atwood, and Thomas King.
Critical Frameworks: Key Reference Books
To deepen your theoretical understanding, the course consults pivotal critical works, including:
- E.M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel
- Mikhail Bakhtin's The Dialogic Imagination
- Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel
- Rust Hills' Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular
Why Take This Course? Key Benefits
By the end of this 12-week journey, you will:
- Grasp the defining features and historical evolution of major fictional genres.
- Analyze literary texts using established critical frameworks.
- Understand the socio-cultural contexts that shape narratives.
- Appreciate the technical aspects of narrative construction, from plot to voice.
- Develop a sophisticated perspective on contemporary genres like SF and Magical Realism.
- Join a community of learners facilitated by a top IIT professor.
Whether you aim to ace your literature exams, enhance your research, or simply become a more discerning reader, "Fiction: Epics, Novels and Poetry" offers an unparalleled educational experience. Enroll today and begin your masterclass in the world of fiction.
Enroll Now →