ENG 3378 Study Guide - Spring 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Modernism, University, Scorn Band
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
ENG 3378
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
ENG3378- Lecture 1- May 2nd 2018
Introduction
• Foot to the metal kind of class- lots to cover and short time
• Open tech policy- as long as it is class related- focus
• Open speech policy- to help with burn out everyone is encouraged to speak and participate so
that you get the most out of the class
• The final exam is open book- textbook and notes are allowed but no internet – it is in essay
format
• There will also be a research essay and analysis papers (will have to write two) – the first one is
due next week (however you can choose any of the 7 dates per book for two papers)
• While many of the books are not long however the books are a challenge and take some time to
read- keep this mind and plan for these challenges
• How is it playing around with the idea of expectations
• We are not chopping books up- we are doing it all- cover to cover
• Refer to syllabus for any questions or extra information
• Plagiarism is a huge no in this class- just do’t do it
Brief lecture will ensue (approx 40mins)
• What this thing called modernism is
• Important to have this brief discussion so we are ready to dive into Stein, Three Lives next class
• Slides will be posted online however good notes are required- they will be basic
• Do not feel like you need to write down everything it will be made available online
Romanticism: 1830s-1870s (Emerson, Hawthorne, Poe) (these poets are exampled but not covered in
this class)
• Orients texts mainly around imagination/invention rather than historical accuracy
• Enshrines power of imagination as giving meaning to reality
• Acts as reaction and against rationalism/ materialism
• Exalts individuality, personal freedom, spontaneity, self-expression, pastoral- human oriented –
qualities of nature
• Envisions writer as prophet or individuated hero breaking free from social restraints
• How do our writers work for and against the romanticism
• Are there any trickle down effects in the texts that we are looking at
• They want to privilege art- art can unlock the brain
• The rai is ider tha the sky- Emily Dickson- human imagination
• Art is used to unlock this
• How can we engage our experiences in the world through art
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Human and nature connection- on one hand the beauty of it but also the terribly frightening
parts as well
• Sit under a tree- think hard about nature- your humanity will make itself clear to yourself
• What happes if ature ad huaity do’t ohere ayore- this is something that is always a
concern for these authors- Poe was very concerned about this
• How much does nature effect humans
• Look for the natural human bond- or the severing of this in the works that we will be looking at
• Is art up to the task of exposing what is our humanity- some romantics say yes however some
are not nearly as certain that it is
• Romanticism importantly is duality that catches both the pessimists and optimists
Realism: 18070s-1890s (Howells, Twain, James)
• Insists on usual or typical, rather than extraordinary or exotic, experience
• Turns focus to inner from outer reality
• Engages techniques of selective subject matter, objective reporting, controlled narrative
perspective
• Deries partially fro regioal/loal olour ritig
• Ephasizes as its key ideal: realis is othing more or less than the truthful treatment of the
aterial – Wm. Dean Howells
• Do’t at to put liits o the hua iagiatio
• Realists are afraid of roatiis eause they fear it shy’s people aay fro their huaity
• They do’t at to derail the imagination- they just want to angle it more for more real life
cases- more believable people
• Craft people on a page in the way we look like in real life
• Want people to connect and see yeah I can see that happen rather than things like a body
coming back from the dead and scratching at your window- it’s a tree loig i the id
• While someone like Poe is a very psychological writer- he does it symbolically and
metaphorically where they realists want to do things a bit more literal
• Think about what happened in America coming into this time frame
Naturalism; 1890s-1900s ( Crane, Norris, London)
• Has roots in theories of Marx and Darwin, exploring biological and economical forces that
govern human life
• Expresses realism tinged with new idea of universal determinism
• Emphasizes limited human ability to impose will on individual and or communal destiny
• Devalues imaginations embellishment of reality; portrays reality without illusion
• Functions diagnostically, in almost scientifically detached mode
• Recognized that realists were on the right page but needed to push a bit further
• Almost there but not quite
• We are products of our environment
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Look for the natural human bond- or the severing of this in the works that we will be looking at. Is art up to the task of exposing what is our humanity- some romantics say yes however some are not nearly as certain that it is: romanticism importantly is duality that catches both the pessimists and optimists. This then takes use to where we will begin next time. Modernism: 1910-1940s: exists less as a movement than as a synthesis of artistic/cultural trends, driven by heightended. Refer to slides on bright space for supplemental information. Forget about the small town aspect and the collection of random stories: while the stories are all about one town all the stories are independent of each other. To deal with the whole town when only a handful of random people in the town. It"s (cid:374)ot to hea(cid:396) (cid:448)oi(cid:272)es o(cid:396) (cid:449)(cid:396)ite do(cid:449)(cid:374) (cid:449)o(cid:396)ds- it is to know what people are thinking- what.
