This course explores the literary productions of the late 19th and the early 20th century in both Great Britain and the USA. It offers a set of prose and poetry texts of famous authors who witnessed the destruction and disruption caused by WWI such as James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, William Butler Yeats, Ezra Pound, William Faulkner and many others who marked the modernist era by their creativity and their rejection of old traditions.
This course introduces students to a range of aspects, not only of the English language but also of English and American culture. Indeed, students can learn about allusions and references to different aspects of English culture. They can also learn the historical context and cultural meanings of famous quotes and phrases.
The course of Modernist Literature does not confine the students to the traditions of England or the USA but includes the possibility of introducing them to traditions which inform English Literature, such as the study of Ancient Greek drama, and to literature in other contexts, such as European literature. It also provides the students with an alternative to the pervasiveness of “television culture” with its shallowness.
In sum, this course enables third year students to learn about the Modernist movement and its characteristics, and to develop personal criticism through the analysis of literary texts of the period. However, in addition to enhacing the capacity of critical thinking and citing evidence, this course is featured most of all by its aesthetic and emotional appeal.