ENGL 245 - American Modernisms: Time, Space, and Race

Institution:

Wesleyan University

Subject:

English

Description:

This course examines American modernist writings with special attention to ways in which representations of time and space relate to notions of race during the 20th century. In addition to studying modernist manifestos calling upon artists to "make it new," we will examine how writers engage with this proposition by pushing the boundaries of genre to represent the diversity of America and Americans in formally innovative ways. We will also investigate works that query the contradictions inherent in American conceptions of modernity and progress without necessarily engaging American modernist impulses as such. The central question guiding the course will be how literary forms enable and limit writers' attempts to capture unequal, racialized experiences of American time and space. Toward the end of the semester we will take a brief look at how contemporary writers revisit modernist forms in ways that show the enduring influence of American modernism on contemporary culture and society.

Credits:

1.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.wesleyan.edu

Phone Number:

(860) 685-2000

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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