Upon completion of this module, students will have gained; An understanding of modernism in its political, historical, and cultural contexts; Familiarity with a range of British literature produced in this period; An understanding of the role of colonialism in this period and an awareness of the changing meaning of Englishness; Familiarity with both conventional definitions of modernism and with newly-emergent definitions of modernisms.

This course examines the political, historical, and cultural contexts that informed modern British literature between 1900 and 1945. Modernism has conventionally been understood as an artistic movement breaking free of Victorian constraints. In this view, writers challenged received conventions both in from e.g. experiments with plot structure and content e.g. a new emphasis on subjectivity. Recently, however, critics have argued for a more expansive understanding of 'modernism' by highlighting the way in which the focus on aesthetics works to marginalize such factors as class affiliation, colonial voices, dissident sexualities, and gender. Topics will include the two world wars' the dissolution of empire; the literary reactions to fascism and the Holocaust; the intellectual impact of Marx, Freud, and others; the suffrage movement; cosmopolitan and international movements such as Dada, Imagism, and Surrealism; modernist literature in relation to other expressions of modernity such as painting and cinema.

Demonstrate a broad knowledge of both canonical and noncanonical modernist texts. Evaluate these texts in their historical, social, and political contexts. Construct a detailed account of modernist literature's distinct features in literary history.

Assess competing critical approaches. Differentiate types of modernist movements. Interpret a range of texts.

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The module will be taught by lecture, seminar discussion and by research-based critical material. Students will learn by listening to and engaging with lectures, reading primary and secondary sources (both assigned and recommended). As this is postgraduate module, a significant proportion of the workload involves self-directed research, which will be graded by continuous assessment.