American Modernisms: Time, Space, and Race
ENGL 245
Fall 2014 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
AMST 254 |
This course examines American modernist writings with special attention to ways in which representations of time and space relate to notions of race during the 20th century. In addition to studying modernist manifestos calling upon artists to "make it new," we will examine how writers engage with this proposition by pushing the boundaries of genre to represent the diversity of America and Americans in formally innovative ways. We will also investigate works that query the contradictions inherent in American conceptions of modernity and progress without necessarily engaging American modernist impulses as such. The central question guiding the course will be how literary forms enable and limit writers' attempts to capture unequal, racialized experiences of American time and space. Toward the end of the semester, we will take a brief look at how contemporary writers revisit modernist forms in ways that show the enduring influence of American modernism on contemporary culture and society. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST) |
Major Readings:
Djuna Barnes, NIGHTWOOD
William Faulkner, A ROSE FOR EMILY
Chuang Hua, CROSSINGS
James Weldon Johnson, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EX-COLORED MAN
Nella Larsen, QUICKSAND
Toni Morrison, A MERCY
Gertrude Stein, MELANCTHA
Tennessee Williams, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
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Examinations and Assignments:
Three to four short papers
One longer paper (8-10 pp)
One co-presentation |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Attendance and active participation in discussion
This course fulfills the English major Literatures of Difference requirement and contributes to the American Literature and Race & Ethnicity concentrations. |
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