Twentieth Century Literature Before 1945

Curriculum guideline

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Course
ENGL 3139
Discontinued
No
Course code
ENGL 3139
Descriptive
Twentieth Century Literature Before 1945
Department
English
Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
Not Specified
PLAR
No
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
25
Contact hours
4 hours per week
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning activities

Some or all of the following methods will be used:

  1. lecture/discussion;
  2. group work;
  3. peer review;
  4. independent research;
  5. instructor feedback on students’ work;
  6. individual consultation; and
  7. presentation (individual or group).
Course description
Focusing on the period between 1885 and 1945, this course surveys a selection of texts in any genre(s), chosen to highlight an organizing theoretical, national, or thematic focus. Secondary readings will include theory/criticism, and will introduce students to a range of early twentieth century aesthetic practices and perspectives.
Course content

All third-year English courses share the following features:

  1. Students are presumed to have had first-year level instruction and experience in writing critical essays on literary subjects.
  2. Students are required to read in the course subject area beyond the texts assigned by the instructor.
  3. Students are required to incorporate into their oral and written coursework secondary source materials which may include biographical information, literary criticism or theory, unassigned texts by the author under study, relevant cultural or intellectual history, or other aesthetic works such as music or visual art.

Readings and topics vary with each instructor’s presentation of a course, but all course materials are consistent with the objectives and outcomes for this course.

Additionally, in English 3139,

  1. students will read a selection of early twentieth century texts, as well as some theoretical/critical material relevant to the particular theme or focus.
  2. areas of concentration and course content will vary with the instructor but may include, but not be limited to, explorations of the influence of technology on creative practice; the role of warfare—and artists' experiences of warfare—in artistic production; the effect of shifting genre expectations; the effect of new creative modes such as advertising, cinema, and comics on creative practice; the role of other literary traditions, styles, or perspectives in the development of modernist aesthetics; the development—and deployment—of theoretical and aesthetic perspectives.
  3. the texts chosen may have been produced originally in English or studied in translation.
  4. the texts chosen will be predominantly literary, but may include other artistic genres such as film, music, and painting.
Learning outcomes

Upon completion of any third-year English literature course, students should be able to

  1. read and analyze literary texts with increased skill and insight;
  2. integrate their understanding of literature into an evolving awareness of relevant cultural and historical contexts and perspectives;
  3. perceive connections among literary texts across genres, historical periods, and/or cultural contexts;
  4. conduct independent research to supplement the course material and integrate this information into course assignments; and
  5. write different kinds of literary analyses, such as thematic, technical, or theoretical.

 Upon completion of English 3139, students should also have developed an understanding and appreciation of

  1. the historical and aesthetic development of Anglo-American/Continental literature and culture during the early twentieth century;
  2. the social, political, cultural or historical conditions out of which the literature of the period emerges, and to which it responds;
  3. the range of themes and issues reflected in early twentieth century writing; such issues might include the impact of technology; increased industrialization; the rise of avant-garde movements and schools; the establishment of alternative forms of aesthetic appreciation; urbanization; warfare; shifting political climates; and challenges to traditional definitions of gender.
Means of assessment
  1. A minimum of two academic essays and a final exam worth at least 80% of the course grade (combined total).
  2. A maximum of 20% of the course grade may be based on informal writing (quizzes, short answer tests); oral reports/presentations; participation/preparation grades; and/or other non writing-intensive assignments.

 

Textbook materials

Texts will vary with authors and genres selected by the instructor, and may include shorter readings compiled in custom course packs. 

The following reading lists represent two possible versions of this course:

Modernism and The Great War

  • Dos Passos, John. Three Soldiers
  • Ford, Ford Madox. The Good Soldier
  • Fussell, Paul. The Great War and Modern Memory
  • Gance, Abel. J’accuse!
  • Lewis, Wyndham and Ezra Pound. Blast and Blast 2
  • The Penguin Edition of First World War Poetry
  • Waugh, Evelyn. Vile Bodies
  • West, Rebecca. The Return of the Soldier
  • Woolf, Virginia. Jacob’s Room

Women of the Left Bank

  • Barnes, Djuna. Nightwood
  • Benstock, Shari. Women of the Left Bank: Paris, 1900-1940
  • H. D. HERmione
  • Hass, Robert and Paul Ebenkamp, eds. Modernist Women Poets: An Anthology
  • Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea
  • Schiller, Greta. Paris was a Woman
  • Stein, Gertrude. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
  • West, Rebecca. Return of the Soldier
Prerequisites

Any two university-transfer first-year English literature courses, or one university-transfer first-year English literature course and one university-transfer first-year Creative Writing or English writing course, and a minimum of 45 credit hours.