WHY VICTORIAN NOVELS ARE SO LONG (AND WHY WE LACK PATIENCE TO READ THEM)

You might think that Victorian novels are so long because of their serialization in weekly or monthly instalments, sold either as part of periodical publications or independently. However, this business practice, introduced by Charles Dickens’s publisher, Chapman, with the serialization of The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (19 instalments between March 1836 and November […]

POR QUÉ LAS NOVELAS VICTORIANAS SON TAN LARGAS (Y POR QUÉ NOS FALTA PACIENCIA PARA LEERLAS)

Se podría pensar que las novelas victorianas son tan largas debido a su serialización en entregas semanales o mensuales, vendidas como parte de publicaciones periódicas o de forma independiente. Sin embargo, esta práctica comercial, introducida por el editor de Charles Dickens, Chapman, con la serialización de The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (19 entregas […]

ACQUIRING AN ACADEMIC BIBLIOGRAPHIC CULTURE: SOME TIPS

My second-year students need to write a paper on Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, in which they must cite a minimum of three secondary sources. I give them a list of 23 topics from which they can choose, with the only restriction that only a maximum of 3 students can choose the same topic. In this […]

ON THE USE OF SECONDARY SOURCES IN LITERARY RESEARCH: HOW FAR BACK CAN WE GO?

When I introduce second-year students to the basics of writing academic papers and they submit their first paper proposal (title, 100-abstract, 3-item valid academic bibliography) I warn them to use only post-1995 bibliography (perhaps I should update that to 21st century bibliography?). As I explain, even though in the paper they can use older sources, […]

SOBRE EL USO DE FUENTES SECUNDARIAS EN LA INVESTIGACIÓN LITERARIA: ¿HASTA DÓNDE NOS PODEMOS REMONTAR?

Cuando presento a los estudiantes de segundo año los conceptos básicos de la redacción de trabajos académicos y envían su primera propuesta de trabajo (título, resumen de 100 palabras, bibliografía académica válida de 3 elementos) les advierto que usen solo bibliografía posterior a 1995 (¿quizás debería actualizar eso a la bibliografía del siglo XXI?). Como […]