| COM LIT 10 | MOD EUROPEAN LIT | SMITH, J. | The proclamation of the “death of God”; the rise of nationalism and the catastrophe of the First World War; the alienating condition of the metropolis; the exploration of the unconscious and its drives through psychoanalysis; the inner contradictions of the expanding capitalist economy—all these developments laid the foundation for a new kind of literature with a new role for the individual and society. We will examine a number of great works of this new “Modernist” literature (including an earlier defining text of modern thought) in order to understand better the origins of our contemporary world.
The primary goal of this course is to practice reading and interpreting major (and often difficult) works that are central to the "Modernist" movement. This will involve understanding the historical and philosophical context. But we will also examine the way these texts are constructed (e.g. narrative techniques in the novels). Finally, by reading a play, novels, and poems, we will discuss issues of genre (how the form of a text influences its meaning). |