This course offers an engaging, if limited, examination of the British literature of the Twentieth Century, in its changing and various manifestations, which reflect the tensions of pre and post-World War I through the enormous talents of Joyce, Ford, Lawrence, and Woolf, the emergence of William Golding's nightmarish post-apocalyptic vision, Angela Carter's "Magic Realism," and the anti-romance of Jean Rhys.
The reading for the summer term remains ambitious, with only 15 classes in which to read and study these 9 works (you'll note, as well, that we'll only study the subgenre of fiction). Please keep up with your reading, attend class, and be prepared for a generous sampling of modernity as seen through the eyes and experiences of these British writers. All texts are available at the ASU Bookstore.
As for the requirements, we'll have the usual paper and the option to have a final examination or several shorter tests during the summer term; I'll leave that up to the class. However, attendance is obviously a necessity for a class that meets for only four days a week, for four weeks--please show up.
[An example of texts and syllabus]
Tentative Syllabus: Ordered texts
D. H. Lawrence:
"Odour of Chrysanthemums" (from Selected Short Stories,
Dover)
"The Rocking Horse Winner" (Selected Short Stories, Dover)
James Joyce: "The Dead" (from Dubliners, Bedford/St. Martin's)
Ford Maddox Ford: The Good Soldier (Dover)
Virginia Woolf: "The Mark on
the Wall" & Kew Gardens" (from "A Haunted House" and Other
Stories,
Harcourt)
William Golding:
Lord of the Flies (Penguin)
Angela Carter: Nights at the Circus (Penguin)
Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea [a knowledge of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre helpful] (Norton)
Class Schedule: Second Summer Term
July 6 (Tuesday): Introduction to course
7 -8 (Wed., Thurs.): Lawrence stories
12-13 (Mon., Tues.): "The Dead"
14-19 (Wed. Thurs., Mon.): The Good Soldier
20-21 (Tues., Wed.): Woolf stories
22-27 (Thurs., Mon., Tues.): Lord of the Flies
28-2 (Wed., Thurs., Mon.): Nights at the Circus
3-4 (Tues., Wed.): Wide Sargasso Sea
Aug. 5 (Thurs.): Final Examination; paper due