ENGL 4607B - Carleton University

Carleton University Winter 2012 Department of English ENGL 4607B: Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature Literature and Urban Experience When: M 8:35-11.25am Where: Southam 314 (Please confirm on Carleton Central) Instructor: Professor Sarah Brouillette Office: 1904 DT (office hours W 11.30-12.30 or by appointment) Email: [email protected] Alienation, overcrowding, sensory overload, homelessness, criminality, violence, loneliness, sprawl, blight…How have the realities of city living influenced literature’s formal and thematic techniques? How useful is it to think of literature as its own kind of map of urban space? Are cities too grand, heterogeneous, and shifting to be captured by writers? In this seminar we will seek answers to these questions in key city literature from the UK, and in theoretical works that attempt to comprehend and explain the culture of cities. Texts to Purchase (at Haven Books, 43 Seneca Street):      

T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway Sam Selvon, The Lonely Londoners Ciaran Carson, Belfast Confetti Bernardine Evaristo, Lara Ian McEwan, Saturday

*** Materials not listed here are available via webCT. EVALUATION 5-7 page essay and revision 12-15 page research essay Discussion Leadership and Participation

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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Phones and laptops: Turn off your mobile phone. You can use your laptop for a presentation, or if you have a special reason why you cannot use a pen and paper to take notes.

Discussion Leadership: On one occasion you will be responsible for leading class discussion. You will present contextual materials and questions appropriate to one or more of the readings for that day, and you will have the opportunity to take us in the direction you think best, after which, if and when discretion dictates, I may take over. Some pointers are available on webCT. Submission of assignments: Essays are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Late papers lose 1% per day (of the course total 100%), and receive little or no written commentary. If one week has passed since the due date they will not be graded. Bring late work to the English department head office on the 18th floor of Dunton Tower to have it date stamped. Back up all your work and keep a spare hard copy. Extensions: I only very rarely grant extensions, and you must ask at least four days before the due date to be considered. Being busy with other work is poor grounds for an extension. Plagiarism: If you plagiarize (by passing off something you’ve heard or read as your own, or by submitting the same work on more than one occasion), you will face the Dean and the University Senate. To avoid plagiarism, provide citations for all ideas, arguments, and statements taken from someone else. These must be clearly marked as distinct from your own work. For further guidance, talk to me or see the statement on Instructional Offenses in the Undergraduate Calendar. Students with Disabilities: Consult with me immediately and contact the Paul Menton Centre for letters of accommodation (ext. 6608). Religious Observance: If you anticipate missing a class or exam due to religious observance, consult with me immediately. For guidance see the equity services website for a list of holy days and Carleton’s Academic Accommodation policies (www.carleton.ca/equity), or contact the Equity Services Department (ext. 5622). Pregnancy: Consult with me immediately and contact Equity Services (ext. 5622) for letters of accommodation.

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SCHEDULE 01.09 Introduction 01.16 - W. Wordsworth, “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey” (webCT) - Selection from W. Wordsworth, The Prelude (webCT) - S.T. Coleridge, “Frost at Midnight” (webCT) 01.23 - G. Simmel, “The Metropolis and Modern Life” (webCT) - R. Williams, “When Was Modernism?” (webCT) - R. Williams, “Metropolitan Perceptions and the Emergence of Modernism” (webCT) [Suggested background reading: “Modernity” and “Modernism” (webCT)] 01.30 - T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (webCT) - T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land 02.06 - Selection from W. Benjamin, The Arcades Project (Convolute A: [Arcades, Magasins de Nouveautés, Sales Clerks]) (webCT) - V. Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, to p. 62 02.13 - Le Corbusier, from “The City of Tomorrow and its Planning” (webCT) - V. Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, the rest - Essay writing workshop: Essay #1 Due 02.27 - K. Lynch, from “The Image of the City” (webCT) - S. Selvon, The Lonely Londoners, first half 03.05 - S. Selvon, The Lonely Londoners, second half - J. Raban, Soft City, introduction and chapter seven (“The Magical City”) (webCT)

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03.12 - Z. Smith, “Stuart” (webCT) - Lara, first half - Revised essay due 03.19 - Lara, second half - F. Jameson, “The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism” (to p. 45) (webCT) [Suggested background reading: “Postmodern Culture” (webCT)] 03.26 - C. Carson, Belfast Confetti - Saturday, first half 04.02 - Saturday, second half - Final essay due

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