ENGL 337 A: The Modern Novel

Burstein Fall 337 Modern Novel

What does it mean to be modern? And while we’re at it, what is a novel? "The Modern Novel" introduces students to some of the groundbreaking literary texts of the twentieth century by investigating innovations in form, and shifting relation of self to society. Thematic topics will include the relation of the artist to the artwork and the teller to the tale; the role of the modern woman/"The New Woman"; as well as the limitations and liberations of individual consciousness and its modes of expression. (Can a consciousness be expressed?). Authors will include Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, Evelyn Waugh, and—this is hopefully a little strange—Daphne DuMaurier’s blockbuster Rebecca. The course stresses close reading, literary style, and thematic analysis; and proceeds as a mix of lecture and discussion. Grading is based on participation, a series of short response papers, formal papers, and possibly quizzes.