Course details

Name: ENGL - 337

Title: MODERN AMERICAN FICTION 1918-1945

Section: 01

Semester: Fall - 2016

Credits: 3

Description:
--Taught By Jeffrey Gonzalez,
In this course, we’ll analyze fiction written in America between the two World Wars. During this era, American society changed rapidly—technology became a defining force, reworking how everyday life occurred; popular culture communicated ideas that competed with longstanding tradition.

What critics and historians call “Modernism” is the art and literature that emerged in this era. In its American form, Modernism refers (in part) to experimentation with the assumptions that govern the artist/audience contract. Much Modernist literature also criticized the American society of its day in complex ways, expressing a deep disillusionment with the promises mainstream culture seemed to make and believe in.
As we read some important Modernist texts, we’ll ask the following questions:
--What assumptions operate in this narrative? What does it expect of its readers? How do these expectations differ from more realist or conventional fiction?
--What aspects of U.S. or literary culture seem relevant to the text’s content? Is it interacting with American society openly or in an implicit way?
--What do these texts have to do with each other? What definitions or explanations of Modernism seem most appropriate to the whole body, and which texts push against the definitions we have available to us?
In addressing these questions, we will sharpen our close reading and analytical skills by looking at a number of challenging but rewarding stories, essays, and novels.

Last updated on By Harrison Kim (harrisonk)

Schedule: Monday,Wednesday From 10:00 am To 11:15 am

Graduation requirements:

• Genre Study (Fiction)
• Other American (TE 1d)
• Post-1900 (1d)
• Ethnic Studies (3b)

Teaching Faculty: Staff English Dept. (staff)

Is course canceled: No