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Professor Priya Joshi
English 126, Spring 2001
M,W, F 10-11:00AM, 141 McCone
Office Hours: M, 11:15-12:15;
W, 11:15-1:15; & by appointment
Office: 451 Wheeler Hall
Phone: 510-642-2377
Email: pjoshi@socrates.berkeley.edu

The Course

This course is a look at the literature of Britain that emerged before, between, and after the two world wars. Social unrest, class tensions, an empire that seemed about to slip out of hand, the cultural and political ascendancy of France and the United States, two major wars, and the problems in Ireland were the backdrop to many of the works we will read. Some have argued that modernism "occurred" in these four decades; others maintain it never did; yet others insist that the postmodern was born around here. In a reading of several key works, we will try to address some set of these issues. We will neither survey nor exhaust the literary production of these fecund decades; we'll simply try to read some fun works and talk with pleasure about them.

The Texts (all available from the ASUC Bookstore on campus)

There are different editions of some of the fiction titles we'll be reading this term. In order to keep up with in-class discussions, it would be a great help if you can purchase the edition required for this course.

W.H. Auden, Selected Poems (ed. Edward Mendelson, Vintage)
Samuel Beckett, Murphy (Grove/Atlantic)
Elizabeth Bowen, Death of the Heart (Doubleday)
E.M. Forster, A Passage to India (HBJ)
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (ed., Seamus Deane, Penguin)
T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Anchor)
George Orwell, "England Your England" (in Reader)
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (HBJ)
W.B. Yeats, Selected Poems (NAL)

A required Reader will be available from Krishna Copy on University at Shattuck (540-5959).

The Fine Print

As I see it, our main goal is to learn something about early twentieth-century British literature and to enjoy ourselves as we do so. Please do not hesitate to speak with me immediately if you encounter difficulties with any aspect of this class. I work closely with the staff of the Disabled Students' Office to help my students when they need it. Therefore, if you have a disability that requires particular attention, please inform me of it at the very earliest so that I can make arrangements to accommodate your needs.

Please take note of the following common-sense policies for our course:

1. Attendance and Participation: Attendance is required. Please come to class on time prepared to participate in the day's reading. In order to dissipate the alienation that often accompanies large lecture courses, our class will include a structured discussion format in which I will encourage and expect student participation in certain moments of the course. I will usually alert you of these by asking you to prepare passages or interpretations ahead of time. While I do not intend to put students on the spot by calling on them, I very much welcome input and if I should happen to call upon you on a day in which you feel less than fully prepared, please feel free to say, "I pass."
2. Grading: Your grade will be computed by weighing the two in-class exams and one 7-8 page paper equally. The exams will test your reading of the material and your ability to analyze it. The paper, due the last day of class, will evaluate your ability to synthesize the different readings. It may be an analytic paper or a creative essay (on which more as we come closer to the end of the term), and you should feel free to consult with me early and often as you develop a topic for it.
3. Make-ups and Late Papers: Make-up exams and extensions of the final paper will only be available in cases of documented emergencies. A late paper will be marked down a third of a grade (e.g., from A to A- and so on) for each calendar day it is late, so do please plan ahead and try to avoid this penalty.
4. Note on Academic Honesty: I will expect every member of this class to adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty. You must fully and unambiguously cite all work that is not your own in written assignments and give credit to those whose ideas or language you are using. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism, whose penalty may include failing the course and academic dismissal.

Schedule of Readings

*: indicates material available in the course Reader