Course Resources Archive

In Semester 1 of the course students will study several of the influential and less well-known but key Modernist and 1930s texts written in the first half of the twentieth century by British and Irish authors and poets. Students will engage with the experimentalism of writers attempting to comprehend and articulate the experience of twentieth-century modernity. In Semester 2 of the module students will explore a selection of texts which reflect the exciting diversity of post-Second World War writing.  Building on the work of the first semester, students will encounter later twentieth-century and twenty-first-century continuities with, and revisions of, Modernist aesthetics. The second half of the module will trace the developments in fiction from 1950s ‘Angry Young Men’ (and women), British proponents for the nouveau roman, through to 1970s explorations of cultural and political change, metafiction, women’s writing, and Black British writing celebrating the literary contributions made by the ‘Windrush’ generation and its descendants.

i. Knowledge and understanding
Students will read critically a selection of texts from the chosen genres which are arguably central to an understanding of British literary culture in the 'Modernist' phase and in the 1930s; and a selection of texts representing the range and diversity of fiction and poetry in the post-war ('postmodern') world. Students should become knowledgeable about the ideological and epistemological issues inscribed in modern writing as it seeks to address 'the fantastic realities of the everyday world'.

ii. Skills
Students will continue to enhance their skills in close critical reading, analysis and discussion - both in oral and written form. Maturity in the organisation and presentation of work will be expected.

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.