EWL 304 Inside Modernism
This course is grounded in the belief that one of the best ways to understand a culture at any particular historical moment is to explore the status of its art and literature. Rather than introducing students to a set period with a well established and agreed upon list of texts, trends, and accomplishments, however, this course will engage ongoing debates concerning the term "modernism" itself. We will begin with the assumption that the term "modernism" is a problematic one and that the only means of understanding and, perhaps, resolving some of these problems is to delve "inside" the term and the period itself. Thus, we will strive throughout the semester to enact the kind of rigorous historical and textual analysis that has become the hallmark of cultural studies.