The early twentieth century was an epoch of global social upheaval: world wars, revolutions, mass migrations, the rise and decline of empires. The literature of the same period has long been seen as revolutionary in its own right, a “modernist movement” that responds to the shocks of the time with artistic shocks of its own. But modernism is not the whole story of this period of literary history; it is only one current in a much broader field of literature. This course teaches you how to analyze the forms and themes of exemplary English-language fictions, understanding their diversity and complexity in terms of social struggle and collaboration. Alongside some classic modernist novels, we will explore three other significant literary developments of the time: the detective novel, the Harlem Renaissance, and Indian writing in English.
Course commonplace book: e20fic23.blogs.rutgers.edu
This page will be updated with links to in-class materials. Detailed syllabus: syllabus.pdf.
Last updated: October 11, 2023.
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September 7. Introduction.
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September 11. James.
- James, “The Middle Years.”
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September 14. Joyce (1).
- Joyce, Portrait, chap. 1.
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September 18. Joyce (2).
- Joyce, Portrait, chaps. 1–2.
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September 21. Joyce (3).
- Joyce, Portrait, chaps. 1–3.
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September 25. Joyce (3).
- Joyce, Portrait, chaps. 1–4.
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September 28. Joyce (5).
- Joyce, Portrait, complete.
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October 2. Woolf (1).
- Joyce, Portrait, continued.
- Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, 3–92.
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October 5. Woolf (2).
- Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, complete.
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October 9. Woolf (3).
- Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, complete.
- Woolf, “Modern Fiction.”
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October 12. Faulkner (1).
- Woolf, continued.
- Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, 3–81.
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October 16. Faulkner (2).
- Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, 3–179.
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October 19. Faulkner (3).
- Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, 3–179.
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October 23. Faulkner (4).
- Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, complete.
- Lester, “As They Lay Dying.”
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(October 24. Paper 1 due.)
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October 26. Sayers (1).
- Sayers, Whose Body?, chaps. 1–6.
- Chesterton, “A Defence of Detective Stories.”
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October 30. Sayers (2).
- Sayers, Whose Body?, complete.
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November 2. Hammett (1).
- Hammett, Maltese Falcon, chaps. 1–13.
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November 6. Hammett (2).
- Hammett, Maltese Falcon, complete.
- Chandler, “The Simple Art of Murder” (recommended).
- McCann, Gumshoe America, 87–91 (recommended).
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November 9. Midterm.
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November 13. Toomer.
- Toomer, Cane: all of pt. 1, “Seventh Street,” “Avey,” “Bona and Paul.”
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November 16. Hurston (1).
- Hurston, Their Eyes, 1–99.
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November 20. Hurston (2).
- Hurston, Their Eyes, 1–153.
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November 27. Hurston (3).
- Hurston, Their Eyes, complete.
- Carby, “The Politics of Fiction, Anthropology, and the Folk.”
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November 30. Tagore.
- Tagore, “The Postmaster.”
- Tagore, “The Hungry Stones.”
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December 4. Anand (1).
- Anand, Untouchable.
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December 7. Anand (2).
- Anand, Untouchable, complete.
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December 11. Anand (3).
- Anand, Untouchable, complete.
- Anand, “On the Genesis of Untouchable.”
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(December 12. Paper 2 due.)