The Academic Novel: A Story of Life in Colleges and Universities

 The Academic Novel: A Story of Life in Colleges and Universities

An academic novel—also called a campus novel or university novel—is a story that mostly takes place in a college or university. The main characters are usually teachers or professors, often from the English department. These novels are like mystery stories, but instead of crime or murder, they show the funny or serious side of life in schools for higher education.

What Makes an Academic Novel Special?

One of the special things about academic novels is the setting. Like in a mystery set in a quiet house in the countryside, the college or university in these novels is a small world. The people there often have strong and strange personalities, and they live and work close to each other. This creates many chances for drama, humor, or even deep emotional stories.

In murder mystery novels, the small setting often creates fear or suspense. But in academic novels, it usually creates a feeling of silliness or humor. These stories show how teachers argue over small matters, often making it seem like big problems even when the stakes are low. That is why people say academic politics are so bitter because the issues are not really important—but they feel very important to those involved.

Even though many academic novels are funny, they sometimes deal with serious topics too. These topics include power struggles, relationships, social class, and the feeling of being left out or rejected.

The Roots of Academic Novels

The idea of making fun of scholars is not new. Long ago, the Greek playwright Aristophanes wrote a play called The Clouds in which the philosopher Socrates is shown flying in a basket in the sky. This was meant to make fun of people who think too much and do little in real life.

Later on, novels like Middlemarch (1874) by George Eliot, Jude the Obscure (1895) by Thomas Hardy, The Professor’s House (1925) by Willa Cather, and Gaudy Night (1935) by Dorothy L. Sayers had characters or settings in universities. But what we now call the modern academic novel began in the mid-1900s.

In Britain, some early examples of this modern form are The Masters (1951) by C. P. Snow and Lucky Jim (1954) by Kingsley Amis. In the United States, Mary McCarthy’s The Groves of Academe (1951) is one of the first.

Popular Academic Novels

Some well-known British academic novels include:

• The History Man (1975) by Malcolm Bradbury
• A series of three novels by David Lodge:
  • Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses (1975)
  • Small World: An Academic Romance (1984)
  • Nice Work (1988)

Another famous novel is Brideshead Revisited (1945) by Evelyn Waugh. This book is a varsity novel, which means it mainly follows the lives of students, usually at Oxford or Cambridge.

In the United States, some important academic novels are:

• Pnin (1957) and Pale Fire (1962) by Vladimir Nabokov
• Giles Goat-Boy (1966) by John Barth, which shows the whole universe as one big university
• The War Between the Tates (1974) by Alison Lurie
• White Noise (1985) by Don DeLillo
• Wonder Boys (1995) by Michael Chabon
• Straight Man (1997) by Richard Russo
• The Human Stain (2000) by Philip Roth

Changes in the Academic Novel Over Time

In the past, college life in novels was shown like a quiet, special world with its own rules. Professors were seen as wise people living in peaceful places, far from the busy world outside.

But in newer novels, colleges are shown as smaller versions of the real world. Problems like money, power, gender roles, and job safety become big parts of the story. Today’s academic novels often focus on the struggles faced by teachers, especially those who don’t have permanent jobs.

The Rise of the Adjunct Novel

One new type of academic novel is called the adjunct novel. An adjunct is a teacher who works part-time or on a contract, with less pay and no job security. These characters face problems like stress, poverty, and the fear of losing their jobs. Instead of being protected by the school system, they are often pushed to the edge.

The term "adjunct novel" became popular after an article called “Unlucky Jim: The Rise of the Adjunct Novel” by Jeffrey J. Williams. This article was published in The Chronicle Review on November 16, 2012.

Books That Study Academic Novels

Some books have studied this kind of fiction in more detail:

• Ancient Cultures of Conceit: British University Fiction in the Post-War Years (1990) by Ian Carter
• Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents (2005) by Elaine Showalter

Final Thoughts

The academic novel may seem like a small type of story, but it gives readers a close look at how colleges and universities work. Whether funny or serious, these stories help us understand the lives of teachers, students, and the struggles they face. From jokes about petty politics to serious talks about freedom and fairness, the academic novel reflects both the charm and the challenges of academic life.