SoSe 19: PS-Surveying English Literatures II: Modern British Novels
Alicia Broggi
Kommentar
What makes a novel “modern”? This course invites students to encounter and discuss three novels published in Britain during the early 20th century with precisely that question in mind. While reading works by James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Djuna Barnes, we will ask whether they are trying to be “modern”. To what extent does each novel convey a sense of being “modern” that is different from simply being up-to-date or of its time? By practicing basic skills of textual analysis, we will reflect upon the extent to which features of narrative and plot in each fiction actually differ from Romantic and Victorian genre conventions. Throughout, we will consider how each novel responds to historical pressures, such as the psychological and social impact of World War I, the decline in religious belief, the constraints of outdated social conventions, and the commodification of industrialized life. These considerations will be informed by the reception of each work in later criticism, from formalist criticism to cultural criticism to feminist and queer theory.
Participants will be expected to meet the standard requirements: regular attendance and short presentations are obligatory, and credits can be obtained by submitting a term paper.
N.B. This is a reading intensive course, so please begin the required texts in the break.
Required Texts:
- James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916)
- Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway (1925)
- Djuna Barnes, Nightwood (1936)
12 Termine
Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung