LIT 4714 - Fall 2025 - Gontarski

This course serves as an introduction to literary and cultural Modernism. We will discuss some of the key questions that animate discussion among literary scholars today, including the nature of Modernist art, the relation between culture and power, and the interpretation of texts. Most of our time will be spent carefully reading and assessing the arguments in the essays that we read. We will also consider how literary theory and conceptions of Modernism have evolved over the last century within its various historical, social, and institutional contexts.

Learning Objectives:

1) become familiar with several influential critical and theoretical approaches to Modernist literature and theory;

2) grow adept at identifying and distinguishing among these approaches;

3) enhance analytic skills by thinking through particular theoretical frameworks;

4) refine writing skills through practice in expressing and supporting complex ideas.