Department of English

During the twentieth century Britain experienced two world wars, the loss of its empire, the enfranchisement of women, the emergence of modern technology, and the increasing diversification of its population. These dramatic social and political events—and the intellectual developments that accompanied them—will form the backdrop to this survey of British literature, 1900-1999. Readings are likely to include works by Joseph Conrad, E. M. Forester, James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Jean Rhys, Samuel Beckett, Martin Amis, Angela Carter, and Salman Rushdie. Requirements include several short response papers, two longer papers, a final exam, and lively participation in class discussion.