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Orwell and Hemingway

ENGL 248.301
instructor(s):
TR 12-1:30

This course will compare the works and careers of George Orwell 
and Ernest Hemingway as modernists and witnesses to major 
political and historical events in the first half of the 20th 
century. We'll focus especially on their expatriate experiences, 
their work as journalists, their participation in the Spanish 
Civil War, their political convictions, and the development of 
their literary reputations. We'll pay particular attention to 
the following questions: What is the relation of each writer's 
life to his art, and his non-fiction to his fiction? How are 
differences between English and American culture reflected in 
their life and work? How do they respond in life and art to 
World War I, the Depression, the Spanish Civil War, World War 
II, the decline of the British Empire, and the Cold War? How do 
they exemplify "the plain style?" What codes of masculinity 
operate in their work, and how do they represent women? Course 
work will include frequent short written responses to the 
readings, a brief review of a critical article, a mid-term essay 
comparing a work by each writer, and a final research paper on a 
topic of the student's choice.

fulfills requirements