Module Code and Title:        LIT310 Novel from Modernism to Postmodernism

Programme:                          BA in English Studies

Credit Value:                          12

Module Tutor:                       Sunil Kumar (Coordinator), Vanlallawmkimi, Paromita Manna

General objective: This module will introduce the novel from the early twentieth century to the present day. Students will explore how the novel continued to evolve during this period owing to historical and political forces in correlation with corresponding literary periods and movements. The module also focuses on the notable features of the novel during this period such as stream of consciousness, metafiction, intertextuality and encourages intertextual connections between the prescribed novels to explore how they bear traces of the socio-historical periods in which they were produced.

Learning outcomes – On completion of the module, students will be able to:

1. Discuss the social and cultural influences of the prescribed novels.
2. Describe the evolution of the novel from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.
3. Discuss how the novels are products of particular periods and are shaped by the dominant cultural, artistic or political milieu of the period such as modernism, racism, globalization and behaviourism.
4. Explain how the novels stylistically experiment with the genre of the novel in terms of language as well as narrative technique.
5. Analyse how the periods in question contributed to the production of specific types of novel.
6. Evaluate the political agendas of the novels studied.
7. Engage in critical and theoretical debates around the novels studied.

Learning and Teaching Approach:

Assessment Approach:

1. Written assignment: 25%

Students will write an analytical essay of 1500 - 2000 words using some of the critical and theoretical concepts discussed in the class and apply them on one of the novels. Students will be expected to refer to at least three appropriate academic secondary sources.

Assessment will be based on the following marking criteria:

Critical Analysis and Quality of Argument: 40 marks

Use of examples from the Primary texts: 20 marks

Depth of Knowledge and Accuracy of understanding: 25 marks

Language Use and Structure & Organisation: 15 marks

1. Hot Seat: 20%

Students will be given roles from specific scenes in the novels where they have to empathise with the character and defend his/her actions and thoughts to the class for 5 - 7 minutes each. The classmates can prepare and ask questions to earn class participation points. Students in the hot seat will be graded on their analysis of the character and situation in the novel and their power of persuasion.

Assessment will be based on the following criteria:

Accuracy of comprehension: 35 marks

Quality of argument: 35 marks

Clarity and Fluency: 30 marks

1. Open-book Class Test: 15%

An open-book test for approximately 45 minutes on Mrs. Dalloway will be conducted. Students will be asked to answer one essay-type analytical question, and students can refer the text to substantiate their argument. The assessment rubric will be provided two days before the test; the question will be provided at the time of the test.

The open-book class test will be assessed on the following marking criteria:

Critical Analysis and Quality of Argument: 30 marks

Use of examples from the Primary texts: 25 marks

Depth of Knowledge and Accuracy of understanding: 30 marks

Language Use and Structure & Organisation: 15 marks

1. Midterm Examination: 10%

Students will take a written exam of 1.5 hr duration covering topics up to the mid semester. Similar to the semester end exam, the assessment is comprehensive and summative in nature, and will include questions from all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and follow the programme’s blue-print for question papers.

1. Semester-End Examination: 30%

Students will take a written exam of 2.5 hr. duration encompassing all the subject matter covered in the semester. This assessment is comprehensive and summative in nature, and will comprise structured questions from all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and will follow the programme blue-print for Semester-End Examination questions. 

Overview of assessment approaches and weighting

Pre-requisites: None

Subject matter:

1. Unit I: Modernism: Close reading and analysis of Virginia Woolf’s Dalloway
   • Historical and Scientific Context
     • Key historical & political events shaping modernity
     • The impact of World War I: ‘shell shock’
   • Brief introduction to modernist narrative
     • Fragmentation
     • Subjectivity and interiority
     • The influence of psychoanalysis
     • Stream of consciousness and interior monologue
   • Narrative technique
     • Woolf's use of ‘baton-passing’ stream of consciousness
     • Woolf’s representation of trauma: representation of Septimus Smith

2. Unit II: The Modern Novel: Close reading and analysis of Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange
   • Language and Narrative Technique
     • Language and Class division
     • ‘Nadsat’ slang
   • Violence and Society
     • Depictions of violence
     • Law and criminality in society
     • Youth Culture in England
   • The question of Free Will
     • Behaviourism
     • The Penal System
     • Censorship and society

3. Unit III: The Postmodern Novel: Close reading and analysis of Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss
   • Social-Historical context
     • Experiences of Cross-ethnic Diaspora
     • Global capitalism and Cosmopolitanism
     • Minority struggle for Recognition
   • Narrative technique
     • Use of Fragmentary Structure
     • Narrative shift across time and space
     • Points of View- of Two major characters

Reading List:

Essential reading

Burgess, A. (1962). A clockwork orange. Penguin Modern Classics.

Desai, K. (2015). The inheritance of loss. Penguin Books.

Levenson, M. (2011). The Cambridge companion to modernism. Cambridge University Press.

Woolf, V. (1990). Mrs. Dalloway. USB Publishers’ Distributors Pvt. Ltd.

Additional reading

Bakhtin, M. M. (2018). Discourse in the novel. https://fdocuments.net/document/bakhtin-discourse-in-the-novel.html.

Bakhtin, M.M. (1990). Epic and novel. https://people.duke.edu/~dainotto/Texts/bakhtin.pdf

Eagleton, T. (2005). The English novel. Blackwell.

Date: June 2022