Twentieth Century Fiction Course | IIT Madras | Prof. Avishek Parui
Course Details
| Exam Registration | 195 |
|---|---|
| Course Status | Ongoing |
| Course Type | Elective |
| Language | English |
| Duration | 12 weeks |
| Categories | Humanities and Social Sciences, English Studies |
| 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 | 26 Apr 2026 IST |
| NCrF Level | 4.5 — 8.0 |
Unraveling the Modern World: A Guide to the Twentieth Century Fiction Course
Embark on a profound intellectual journey through the landscapes of modern and contemporary literature with the Twentieth Century Fiction course from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. This meticulously designed 12-week program, led by the distinguished Prof. Avishek Parui, offers a critical exploration of the literary masterpieces that defined and challenged the twentieth century.
Course Overview & Instructor Profile
This undergraduate/postgraduate level course delves into key texts from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, examining how fiction grappled with seismic shifts in society, politics, and human consciousness. The curriculum is structured to provide a complex understanding of themes like imperialism, modernity, trauma, embodiment, and identity.
The course is helmed by Dr. Avishek Parui, Assistant Professor in English at IIT Madras and an Associate Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. A renowned scholar, Prof. Parui's research expertise spans medical humanities, masculinity studies, memory studies, and postmodernism. His recent publication, Postmodern Literatures (Orient BlackSwan), underscores his authority in the field, ensuring that students receive guidance from a leading academic mind.
Who Should Enroll?
This course is ideally suited for:
- Students pursuing B.A. or M.A. degrees in English Literature.
- Students of Cultural Studies seeking a deep literary perspective.
- Any postgraduate student or enthusiast with a foundational background in English (a B.A. in English or Cultural Studies is a prerequisite).
A 12-Week Literary Expedition: Course Layout
The course is structured as a weekly deep dive into seminal texts, moving from early modernism to postcolonial narratives. Here is a detailed breakdown:
| Week | Primary Text/Focus | Key Themes & Authors |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction; The Postmaster | Rabindranath Tagore, colonial bureaucracy, loneliness. |
| Week 2 | Heart of Darkness | Joseph Conrad, imperialism, madness, moral ambiguity. |
| Week 3 | Prufrock and Other Observations | T.S. Eliot, modern anxiety, urban alienation. |
| Week 4 | The Waste Land | T.S. Eliot, fragmentation, myth, post-war trauma. |
| Week 5 | Dubliners | James Joyce, epiphany, Irish paralysis. |
| Week 6 | Mrs Dalloway | Virginia Woolf, consciousness, time, post-war society. |
| Week 7 | Ulysses | James Joyce, stream of consciousness, modern epic. |
| Week 8 | The Fly | Katherine Mansfield, grief, memory, World War I. |
| Week 9 | Solid Objects | Virginia Woolf, obsession, materialism vs. art. |
| Week 10 | Toba Tek Singh | Saadat Hasan Manto, partition, madness, identity. |
| Week 11 | The Chess Players | Premchand, colonialism, decadence, inaction. |
| Week 12 | Conclusion | Synthesis of themes, fiction and representation. |
Teaching support is provided by Teaching Assistants Arindam Nandi and Arnab Mukherjee, ensuring engaged and personalized learning.
Why Study Twentieth Century Fiction?
The literature of the twentieth century serves as a crucial archive of human experience during an era of unprecedented change—world wars, technological leaps, colonial disintegration, and radical shifts in thought. This course doesn't just teach you about books; it equips you with the critical tools to:
- Decode complex narrative techniques like stream of consciousness.
- Understand the historical and cultural contexts that shaped literary movements.
- Analyze the construction of identity, nationhood, and trauma in text.
- Appreciate the dialogue between Western modernist and postcolonial narratives.
By studying texts from Conrad and Woolf to Manto and Premchand, you will trace a global literary conversation about power, self, and society.
Ready to Begin Your Journey?
The Twentieth Century Fiction course from IIT Madras is more than an academic module; it's an invitation to think critically about the world through its most influential stories. Under the expert mentorship of Prof. Avishek Parui, you will gain not only knowledge but a refined perspective on the art of fiction and its power to represent reality.
Prepare to engage with the books that questioned everything. Enroll today and transform your understanding of modern literature.
Enroll Now →