This course cultivates students’ appreciation of novels with an emphasis on close reading, the essential skill for literary studies, while the thematic focus is “coming-of-age.” We will read novels that trace the psychological and moral development of the protagonists as they begin to experience the world. Through these texts, we will explore the ways in which the development of an individual from childhood to early adulthood is depicted in literature—specifically, in canonical works by Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, and James Joyce. As we read, we will try to figure out how “coming of age” is understood and achieved in different times by asking the following questions of each text: What does it mean to come of age? When does this process begin? How do we know it has been achieved? If it failed, why? We will also consider the social function of these texts by examining how each one interacts with the dominant discourses about coming of age at the time, so as to explain why the earlier English texts often promote or reinforce the social norm, while later Irish texts tend to challenge it. Students will be encouraged to think critically about both these texts and their own “coming of age” so that the appreciation of literary texts will engender a deeper understanding of one’s own self.