English 165

Description

We will survey major American writers from the first half of the twentieth century, with a special focus on texts that challenged both the formal and social conventions of literature in the period. We will examine a range of responses to such events as World War I and the Great Migration, while also reflecting on some of the subtler transformations that made everyday life in these decades feel "modern." Our readings will be accompanied by a look at the period's visual culture, including painting, photography, and film. Texts by William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Willa Cather, Nella Larsen, William Carlos Williams, Gertrude Stein, Wallace Stevens, T. S. Eliot, and more.

This class is open to English majors only.