Modernism Syllabus Professor Burstein English 315 Winter 2024
EXED 110.
Class: MW 2:30-4:20
Office hours: Mondays 12-2, Padelford A502. In person. See “office hours” section below for details.
A Few Points About This Class
Given modernism, we will be dealing with accounts of war and trauma as historical, psychological, and physiological phenomena. This will include descriptions of trench warfare and bodily harm. You may wish to find another class if this is problematic for you at this time.
Additionally, the class will be reading literature containing anti-Semitic and anti-Black terms, alongside misogynist and racially demeaning assumptions. Alongside a commitment to anti-racist pedagogy, I adopt Dr. Koritha Mitchell’s pedagogical practice: “The N-word is not uttered in my classes, even if it appears in the reading. We simply say N or N’s when reading passages aloud.” http://www.korithamitchell.com/teaching-and-the-n-word/ (Links to an external site.) https://soundcloud.com/c19podcast/nword
Always bring the text under discussion to class.
This class is not recorded. Exceptions are already aware of their status as such.
Finally: You are responsible for having read this syllabus thoroughly.
Texts
These will be at the UW Bookstore. Unless otherwise noted these specific editions are mandatory (make sure the ISBN matches; let me know if there’s disparity).
Hard copy is always required. (NB: Hard copy is not the same as hardback; these are all paperbacks.) No exceptions. That means no e-books, no Kindle, etc. Bring the text to class. I do however encourage the use of Project Gutenberg editions when it comes to reviewing and/or searching for terms, if an RP takes you that way.
Take notes, and do so with your edition’s page numbers.
Rebecca West, The Return of the Soldier (1918) · ISBN-13 : 978-0141180656. Another hard copy version is also fine for this.*
Sylvia Townsend Warner, Lolly Willowes (1926) ISBN-13 : 978-0940322165
Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca (1938) · ISBN-13: 978-0380730407
Eliot, The Waste Land and Other Poems (9780142437315; Penguin Books).
Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (1925). This has been ordered from the UW bookstore. The most recent decent edition respecting Woolf’s form that does not cost a million pounds, is a Penguin Classics “Deluxe” edition, with an intro by the uber-informative and esteemed Elaine Showalter (ISBN-13: 978-014313613).
Course Reader: Contains all poems on syllabus. Available at EZ Copy & Print, 4336 University Way.
Schedule
This is a reading-heavy class.
You are expected to have completed reading the entire novel before the first day’s discussion. In terms of weekly page counts, lighter and heavier reading loads alternate in order to allow you to read ahead for the heavier, novel-focussed weeks. You may not be used to doing this, so start right away. Please see me in office hours if and when keeping up with the reading is a recurrent issue for you.
As a result of my syllabus’s / history’s chronological ordering, the course’s longest book page-wise happens to be its last. Given end of term responsibilities for students generally, this is un-ideal, but hopefully that balances out because a) the syllabus guides you when to read ahead b) that book is the most page-turn-y plot-wise, and c) I’ve decided not to have the course culminate in a paper, instead weighting grades on the RP’s and in-class work, and discussions. See below for the Grade Rubric.
Participation includes your own time management in order to complete the reading. Thus in-class quizzes may also be given; these would be simple, plot-based questions. Such quizzes are factors in the participation grade portion of the course grade. They can’t be made up for retroactively, since that defeats their purpose as super-ego prompts. For more info see “Absences” section below.
Week 1
W 3 January Intro: Syllabus, Modernism lecture. The first day of any term at UW is not an optional attendance class.
Homework (in addition to the upcoming days’ topics of discussion): Get the books you don’t already have, and start the West.
Week 2
M 8 Jan Imagism
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/imagism
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/articles/58900/a-few-donts-by-an-imagiste
The following readings are on Canvas.
Pound, “In a Station of the Metro” (two versions; incl original in Poetry 2:1 (April 1913), p. 12.
Optional: The original magazine in which it appeared is here: https://modjourn.org/issue/bdr457473/#
From Pound, Cathay (1915): “The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter”
Pound, “The Jewel Stair’s Grievance”
HD, “Oread”
W 10 Jan: Imagism, con’t; Modernism Lecture 2 (prep for weeks 3-6): the Great War and modern trauma, with in-class time given to Q and A. We may also utilize in-class writing.
Weekend Homework: Start West’s Return of the Soldier.
Week 3
M 15 Jan MLK Day Holiday.
W 17 Jan WW1 poems. Theme: the body & its environments (read for mud).
Read https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/70139/the-poetry-of-world-war-i
In reader: McRae, “In Flanders Fields” (it’s a rondeau—read for the rhyme scheme)
Owen, “Dulce et Decorum Est”
“Insensibility” (read Austin Allen’s essay on it)
Brooke, “The Soldier” (1915) “The Dead”
RP # 1 is also due by noon on Canvas, on 17 Jan. Unusually, it has 2 parts. Do not spend more than 3 hours on this RP.
Pick one poem from this week, and list at least 5 of its formal literary aspects. Ex: the uses of metaphor, rhyme scheme, recurrent images, etc. Whatever you learned in highschool and/or your other lit classes can be deployed. It’s just a list (working to assemble it is work, but presentation ain’t. This an atypical part of the RP since it’s a list, not in paragraphs. I want to see where you are in terms of understanding form.)
Then in 400-500 words pick one or two of those elements you’ve listed and explain why it/they might be a way into the poem as a whole; or connect it/them to another text from the first 2 weeks of this course’s reading. Think of this as a microscopic essay that requires you to have already formulated a macro- view.
NB: Friday’s class session was interrupted very early by fire alarm, so adjustments follow:
Week 4
M 22 Jan War Poetry: Friday redux.
W 24 Jan West. The Return of the Soldier. Themes: images of war, landscapes--garden, Monkey Island-- inside the houses [there are several]); and the voice of the narrator. Pay attention to narrative focalization. (Ask me in class what this means; others won’t know either.)
Weekend homework: Eliot, start Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway; see stuff to read for.
Week 5
M 29 West con’t. Note date and time change (pushed forward to allow time for you to consult JB comments on RP1):
Tuesday midnight: RP #2 due.
W 31 Jan Eliot, Jan Eliot, “The Waste Land” (including Eliot’s notes): theme: body, time, war, sex Listen here if you wish: https://youtu.be/CqvhMeZ2PlY?si=TR2TEjhzMlNHW20K (it’s Eliot first, then Ted Hughes [Sylvia Plath’s husband and Poet Laureate])
AND “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”; “Gerontion,” (the link is to Jeremy Irons reading the poem, very much NOT Eliot: silky chocolate vs. chalk)
Sunday 4 Feb: 5 pm RP #3 on T.S. Eliot due on Canvas.
Weekend homework: Dalloway. If possible, wait to write your Woolf RP until after we begin discussion of the novel; once you are orientated, different and deeper questions may emerge.
Week 6
M 5 Feb Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway. To read for: time, fashion, relations between SS and CD. Specific scenes: CD and PW on the omnibus (“They had a theory in those days…”); the kiss (you’ll know it when you get to it); the closing party and novel’s final lines (contemplate their focalization); and some others.
W 7 Feb Woolf, con’t. Receive current overall 4.0-scale grade for your RP’s thus far. It can go up (or down) in the remainder of the term. Group discussion of RP’s, if desired.
Week 7
M 12 Feb Woolf, con’t on Canvas. For fun: Listen to a chat about the book by my brilliant friend Prof Fernald, Links to an external site. who edited the book for Cambridge.
T 13 Feb: RP #4 on Woolf due by 9 am.
W 14 Feb Woolf, con’t.
Weekend homework: Lolly Willowes. Here is some cool supplementary stuff: Warner's draft of a preface to the book, and her review of the Malleus Maleficarum (famous witch book)
Week 8
M 19 Feb National holiday; no class.
W 21 Feb Woolf, Warner set-up.
Weekend homework: Start Rebecca.
Week 9
M 26 Feb Sylvia Townsend Warner, Lolly Willowes RP #5 due 9 am.
W 28 Feb Warner, con't
Week 10
M 4 March Du Maurier, con’t RP #6 due 9 am.
W 6 March Du Maurier, con’t; conclusion.
Grading Rubric
60% RP’s. See “How to Write an RP.” and the crash course in writing better at the end of "Marginal Comments"--both in Canvas>Files.
40% Participation: Informed in-class discussion, individual in-class writing: In-Class Questions, and scribing (to be de-scribed if and when).
“In-class questions”: At times we may pause for you to respond in writing, in real time, in actual handwriting, on actual paper, to a question I pose related to the topic being discussed. I will collect and read these. Missed In-Class Questions cannot be made up for in retrospect, as they are a part of the lived experience of learning. They are given either a complete or an incomplete, so don’t worry about spelling, artfulness, or that capturing that mythical creature known as What The Professor Is Looking For. Just try to think.
Basics
- Contact me from your uw.edu email account. I do not open emails sent from personal accounts. Contact UW IT-- help@.uw.edu--if you are confused about the mechanics of forwarding email to different accounts.
- RP’s are turned in on Canvas as .doc or .docx attachments. They are double spaced with standard margins and 12 point fonts. You may have to change the default spacing in Word from spacing to “no spaces” between paragraphs in order to double space the lines.
Papers receive an automatic penalty if this is not adjusted. I read for a living, and the condition of my eyes is crucial.
- Late RP’s are penalized. Contact me in advance if you see a time crunch upcoming. Generally for RP’s it’s better to turn something in than not.
- Lectures are not recorded. Exceptions are already aware of their status as such.
Conduct
- This is college. Regard your relationship to this class as a professional one. Emails to me are not texts; employ proper grammar. Further, our class is a place of respect.
- Intellectual debate is a vital experience in the humanities and for culture as a whole. I encourage intellectual disagreement on the grounds of concrete evidence. Intellectual argument is not disrespectful; it should be an exchange of ideas with someone whose opinion you take seriously enough to differ with, and whom you want to persuade. Don’t be shy about saying, “Actually I disagree with you, Atalanta; look at p. 32—the character is laughing, and I don’t think that fits with what you are saying.” When someone disagrees with you, you are guaranteed a chance to respond. This does not mean you have to agree with them.
- If you do not know a person’s name, tell them yours and ask them theirs.
- Discussions will shift in focus. If you don’t get your say, raise your hand and say, “I’d like to go back to what So-and-so was saying earlier…” Your response continues to matter, and others will likely appreciate continuing the thread.
- If you have difficulty expressing yourself you are especially welcome at office hours.
- Please be advised that I do not permit the use of electronic screens during class discussion or lecture. I realize that some students prefer to take notes on laptops, but this convenience is counterbalanced by the fact that they distract others. They also tempt users to multi-task (further distracting others). Before class, then, please put away your laptop, phone, tablet, etc. If there is any ambiguity about how this connects with DSS see me individually.
Absences
You don’t need to email me with an explanation for an absence. This is college and I am not a cop. That said, repeated absences may impact the course grade (see Grading Rubric).
You are responsible for keeping up. This does not entail asking the mortifying question, “Did I miss anything?” or even What did I miss?”--which is either only slightly less insulting, or so existentially rich I wouldn’t know where to begin. Check your email account once a day for the remainder of the term, and if you’re catching up, find someone in the class to fill you in once you’re back in the game. You’re welcome to come to office hours to discuss stuff you missed once you have acquainted yourself with what it is.
UW students take the student conduct code seriously when it comes to academic and
professional integrity. Please do not disrespect those dealing with the impact of Covid-19 by invoking it spuriously. Here is the UW’s Emergency Readiness Committee’s 2021 flow chart for decision making. https://www.ehs.washington.edu/system/files/resources/COVID-19-public-health-flowchart.pdf
Office Hours
Listed at the top of the syllabus on the upper left-hand corner. You can make an appointment to hold a time slot, or swing by spontaneously. If it’s spontaneous, you may have to wait if someone is there before you, so I encourage holding a time slot. But it’s up to you and spontaneity has its upsides.
If owing to work or classes you are unable to meet during the designated office hours, contact me and I will try to make an appointment at a mutually do-able time.
If you make an appointment—either in or outside of regular office hours-- and a scheduling conflict emerges, cancel as much in advance as possible; 24 hours is requested. If you no-show for an appointment, you have taken up time that others could have used. This is disrespectful to the community. If you no-show during an appointment we’ve made outside of designated hours, you forfeit being able to make future appointments outside of designated office hours.
Emergencies are exactly that: emergencies. The above does not apply. Prioritize health and welfare, and email me ASAP.
Misc.
- Do not plagiarize. Plagiarism includes the lifting of material from the internet, collusion, and the use of sources without full citation. Papers and presentations are to be the result of your own labor, and all sources must be documented. If you have any questions regarding what constitutes plagiarism, consult me. Plagiarism encompasses unintentional as well as intentional behavior. It will impact both the grade of the RP itself, and the participatory segment of the course grade.
- If I get your name or preferred pronoun wrong, please let me know.
- I do not hold office hours via email.
- This syllabus is subject to change. I will announce changes during class, and/or notify the class through announcements and/or email. You are responsible for keeping up with these modifications to our schedule and/or assignments.
Legalities
If you require accommodation owing to a disability, contact the Disabilities Resources for Students Office (DRS) in Schmitz Hall 448 (206-548-8924; uwdss@u.washington.edu) or the Disabilities Services Office (DSO) at dso@u.washington.edu. It is your responsibility to follow all rules outlined by the DRS/DSO: Should forms be involved, you must ensure delivery to me with time enough to allow for us to arrive at a mutual understanding of the means by which those accommodations are best met.
“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/) (Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/) (Links to an external site.).”
The Department of English at the University of Washington acknowledges that our university is located on the shared lands and waters of the Coast Salish peoples. We aspire to be a place where human rights are respected and where any of us can seek support. This includes people of all ethnicities, faiths, gender identities, national and indigenous origins, political views, and citizenship status; nontheists; LGBQTIA+; those with disabilities; veterans; and anyone who has been targeted, abused, or disenfranchised.