Prerequisites: Communicative competence in English at B2 level or above.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Gain in-depth knowledge of seminal modernist works in their historical, social, political, and cultural contexts;
• Critically apply a selection of theories about modernism to the reading of literary texts;
• Formulate analytic arguments about modernist texts in class discussions, presentations, and written essays. 

Modernist Texts in Context: Poetry, Fiction, and Manifestos

The course examines the early twentieth-century anglophone modernism through a survey of seminal works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by writers such as T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce, and W. B. Yeats (among others). During the course, we will explore the historical, political, social, and cultural contexts that enabled the emergence of literary modernism. An important context to literary modernism is the proliferation of ‘little magazines’, that is, literary and artistic periodicals that first published modernist work, announced the advent of new literary trends through powerful manifestos, and fostered transnational connections among writers. In class, we will read a range of texts and discuss the experimental aesthetics and the “make it new” imperative pioneered by their writers. 

Primary Texts

1. (A) Greenblatt Stephen, Aarthi Vadde, Jahan Ramazani, eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Eleventh Edition. Volume F: The Twentieth and Twenty-first Century. New York & London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2024. Authors include T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce, and W. B. Yeats (among others). The selection of modernist texts from the Anthology will be specified on Teams at the beginning of the course. [Available through the University Library]

Secondary Readings

1. (A) Paul Poplawski. Chapter 6 “The Twentieth Century, 1901–1939”. In English Literature in Context, edited by Paul Poplawski, 470-540. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. [Available in through the University Library]
2. (A) A selection of chapters to be confirmed at the beginning of the course from the following Cambridge Companions [Available through the University Library]:

• Davis, Alex, and Lee M. Jenkins, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Modernist Poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
• Levenson, Michael, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Modernism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
• Shiach, Morag, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Modernist Novel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

The course is taught and assessed entirely in English. The full list of materials and useful information such as a week-by-week schedule of topics will also be available on Teams. Students are kindly invited to check Teams regularly.

• Classes are partly lecture- and seminar-based and students will be working in smaller groups for discussion tasks or short presentations. Students are required to read assigned texts or extracts periodically and are expected to come to class prepared to actively engage in a respectful academic discussion with their peers and their teacher. Reading and discussion questions on the primary texts will be made available in advance on Teams. In the classroom we will also work on academic writing skills in preparation for the essay assignment.

  
  

• Assessment

  -             Argumentative Essay: 50%

  Students will write an argumentative essay (approx. 2,000 words) choosing from a list of topics that will be made available during the course. The essay must be submitted via email to the teacher 10 working days prior to the oral exam session. Evaluation criteria : 1. Argumentation: effectiveness and persuasiveness of thesis statement; clarity of exposition and argument progression (10%). 2. Use of sources: choice of relevant academic sources and use of evidence from primary and secondary sources; accurate referencing (15%). 3. Analysis: close-reading skills; attention to textual detail and ambivalence; ability to deploy a theoretical framework and/or engage in academic debates (20%). 4. Organization and language use: presence of a clear structure (introduction; body paragraphs; conclusion); adherence to formal requirements; generally correct English (5%).

  
  

  -             Oral Exam: 50%

  The exam will consist of questions on a selection of readings (different from the ones tested in the essay). The exam questions will draw on the reading and discussion questions for each text or topic available on Teams. Evaluation criteria: 1. Knowledge of relevant historical contexts for Modernism and key texts (20%); 2. Analysis: ability to engage critically with course materials; close-reading skills (attention to textual detail (20%); 3. Oral communication skills in English: ability to discuss material and concepts in generally correct English, demonstrating accuracy, fluency, and attention to pronunciation (10%).

The course is taught and assessed entirely in English. 

English