The literature of what might be called "the long twentieth century" (roughly 1880 to the present) often bears marked resemblance in preoccupations and structures to what otherwise qualifies as "insanity." Is there something about "this modern world" that drives us mad? Or has the advent of "the modern"-new knowledges, "the death of God," high-speed travel, technological warfare, cultural mixing, gender-bending, "information overload," and so forth-rendered different, perhaps "truer" viewpoints possible? A wide variety of poems, short fiction, and plays will be covered. Authors may include Gogol, T. S. Eliot, Joyce, Woolf, Beckett, Duras, Robbe-Grillet, Plath, Kushner, Creeley, and Parks. Central emphasis will be placed on the development of analytic and expressive skills. Requirements: active participation, several short writing and group assignments, and four 3- to 5-page papers. Student performance will be evaluated on the basis of effort, engagement, and depth of exploration. No prerequisite. Enrollment limit: 19 per section (expected: 19 per section). Preference to first-year students. Two sections.

Hour: SALAMENSKY