This section of 3226 will focus on the work of James Joyce, one of the most important writers of the 20th century. We will begin with some of Joyce’s short stories (Dubliners), then quickly read his first novel (A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man). This will prepare us to tackle Ulysses, a famous, and famously challenging, novel. I strongly suggest you take a look at it, sampling different chapters (you can find the text online easily enough – although you will have to buy a hardcopy). For those who engage with it on its own terms, this novel can be an experience of extraordinary linguistic and intellectual and emotional energy.  If you are willing and able to put in the substantial time and effort required, then I think you will find Ulysses among the most remarkable novels you will ever read.  You should, however, realize that it is set in Dublin, Ireland, in 1904. The novel as a whole proposes a (bittersweet) morality of tolerance and acceptance, but the characters are realistic, which is to say flawed, and sometimes express racist, misogynist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic attitudes common to the time. It was also considered to be offensively explicit about sex and sexualized fantasies, to the point where it was for some time banned as obscene.