106-049 American Liberals and Moderns

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Prerequisites

Usually 25 points of first year English, see Prerequisites

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Subject Description

This subject is a comparative study of selected American fiction representing the liberal tradition and the beginnings of modernism, ranging from the early twentieth century to the early 1940s. The texts chosen will partly reflect the American literary canon in the first half of this century, excluding poetry and drama. The critical approach will be exegetical and humanist, with a strong interest in the range of modernisms and liberal positions that the works represent. Some political and social background to the works will be relevant, and students are encouraged to contextualise their discussions by reading widely.

Assessment

Written work totalling 4000 words.

Prescribed Texts

• J Dos Passos, Manhattan Transfer. Penguin.
• W Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury. Penguin.
• S Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night. Penguin.
• E Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms. Penguin.
• C McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Penguin.
• H Miller, Tropic of Capricorn. Grove.
• G Stein, Three Lives. Penguin.
• J Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath.