Background and Rationale

The main objectives of the course are to:
• develop the student’s capacity for analysis, synthesis and interpretation representative works from the early 20th century until the immediate post-war period with due consideration of modernism and postmodernism and its effects upon the novel and the short story genres
• foster comprehensive general knowledge of relevant critical theory with which to investigate the aesthetic aims of the 20th and 21st century writers in English
• develop research skills appropriate to the field demonstrated in coherent essays and assignments as evident in interpretations of representative Modernist and Postmodern literary texts

Learning outcomes

After completion of the course students are expected to be able to:
1. analyze texts of the 20th and 21st century in terms of form and language, meaning and formal innovations
2. incorporate elements of the historical and social aspects of the period into an understanding of the texts
3. analyze, assess, and apply secondary critical sources on the subjects and texts studied Skills outcomes
4. apply basic knowledge of theoretical and philosophical concerns associated with Modernism and Postmodernism to the interpretation of exemplary literary texts.