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“Each generation writes its own history” (this quotation is attributed to various scholars, such as Tom Holt, H. Morse Stephens, Christopher Hill etc.) – this is all the more true for literary/cultural periods. After all, periods and movements such as Modernism are fuzzy concepts, consisting of different and even divergent tendencies and ideas. Their definitions also depend on who wrote the history: woman, man, white, black, indigenous, European, US American, a contemporary or a scholar? Nonetheless, the developments in culture between the 1890s and 1960s usually assembled under the term ‘Modernism’ justify embarking on this process of rewriting once again. They are fascinating and interesting for us: born out of the crises of modernization, industrialization, urbanization, departing from the authoritarian Victorianisms of the 19th century, demanding (partly) liberation and emancipation, confronted with new scientific paradigms (theory of relativity, particle theory), faced with totalitarian tendencies all over the world, the period perhaps reminds us of our own time. In this course we will have a look at novels, film noir, paintings, poetry and design and discuss whether we have to write our own history of Modernism.
Reading:
Please start reading the longer texts before the semester starts:
- Nella Larsen - Passing.
- Zora Neal Hurston – Their Eyes Were Watching God.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby.
- William Faulkner – Absalom! Absalom!
Two shorter essays on concepts of what Modernism might have been will be posted on Moodle before the seminar starts.
Support:
There will be a Moodle site with information and links. If you register through Agnes, you’ll receive the enrolment key before the course starts.
Requirements:
- You will have to introduce (5 min) one additional Modernist artefact in class: novel, poem, film, painting, object....
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