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Crosslistings: ENGL 330 |
In 1926, a group of modernists declared their disdain for the unsophisticated reader: "The plain reader be damned." Modernism has often been understood as literature that has deliberately placed itself out of reach of the average reader, and at a remove from the public. In this course, we will explore modernism's multiple, and often contradictory, stances toward the American public. We will study literary texts that illustrate modernism's public imagination, including works by Djuna Barnes, Ernest Hemingway, William Carlos Williams, and Gertrude Stein. Specifically, our readings will include Barnes' NIGHTWOOD, Stein's THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALICE B. TOKLAS, and Williams' SPRING AND ALL. In addition, we will study a variety of mass-cultural texts that document modernism's interactions with the American public: newspaper reviews, parodies, advertisements, and reports of lecture tours. Other readings will include theoretical works by Peter Burger, Andreas Huyssen, and Jurgen Habermas. Your assignments include weekly response papers, oral presentations, and a research paper.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Seminar
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA AMST Grading Mode: Graded
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-18-2003
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459