LIT 4714-0001 Spring 2025 - Jaffe

Virginia Woolf famously wrote, “On or about December 1910, human character changed.” This course will focus on the various literary forms, innovations, and interdisciplinary experiments of transnational modernism—some of the very developments Woolf had in mind. A central part of our work will involve questioning the term “Modernism”: How well does it define and interpret the complex, often unorthodox and cosmopolitan writings and art forms we'll study? We'll explore how modernist authors and artists engaged with new ideas in philosophy, psychology, technology, and social changes, including shifts in gender, race, class, and identity. While much of our time will be spent with major modernist figures, we’ll also examine key movements like Futurism, Dadaism, and the Harlem Renaissance, along with lesser-known works, rebels, and avant-gardists.