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Postwar Novel in English ENGL331 SP

This course examines a selection of influential novels written in the two decades following the end of the second world war. Beginning with works from the late 40s by writers with close ties to the experimental modernism of the 20s and the socially committed writing of the 30s, we will focus on a number of transnational cultural phenomena specific to the period, such as: the rejection or critical transformation of earlier modernist and avant-gardist techniques and values; the questioning of Eurocentric cultural authority; the erosion of Empire and struggles over decolonization; writers' loss of faith in established political culture; the emergence of identity politics; the rise of a youth "subculture." We will also look at how these novels fit into, or cast doubt on, the modernism/post-modernism dichotomy now current in many interpretations of 20th-century literature as a whole.

MAJOR READINGS

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

COURSE FORMAT: Discussion Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: HA ENGL

Prerequisites: None

Last Updated on MAR-03-1998