ENG 2052 American Modernism
This course explores a diverse range of American literature written between 1900-1950. We will consider what is "modern" or "modernist" about the form and content of these works and situate them in relation to historical developments and events of the period, such as the rise of mass produced consumer goods, new media formats like film and radio, flappers and the "new woman," the New Negro movement, and the Great Depression.. Our syllabus will be selected from diverse authors of the period-e.g., Anderson, Stein, Frost, Cather, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Hammett, Loos, Parker, Hughes, Faulkner, Hurston, Steinbeck, Ellison. The course re-enforces close reading skills and encourages students to construct narratives about the shared assumptions and conflicts of this vital period in American literary history. (Fall)