Spring 2004

Professor Angela Insenga

Course: XIDS 2100-07, T, R 12:30-1:45, TLC 1-305

 

Spring Office hours: T, R 10-12 and 3:30-5

Office:  TLC 2248

Office number:  836-6512

E-mail:  ainsenga@westga.edu

Teaching Assistant: Phillip Mitchell

Mr. Mitchell’s Office hours: M 3-5, R 4-5

Mr. Mitchell’s e-mail:  pmitchell355@aol.com

 

 

Modernism’s ‘Grand Affair’:  The Life of the Party, the Party of their Lives

 

I should like to investigate the party consciousness, the frock consciousness, etc.

[. . .] where people secrete an envelope which connects them and protects them from others, like myself who am outside the envelope, foreign bodies.  These states are very difficult (obviously I grope for words) but I’m always coming back to it.  The party consciousness. [. . .] You must not break it.  You must keep it up; conspire together.

--Woolf, Virginia

 

 

Course Description:

In an era of artists who prided themselves on artistic impersonality and wallowed in the failure to connect in a societal wasteland of hollow men, several Modernist artists relied paradoxically on a motif that intrinsically drew people together: the party. This course will examine the social phenomenon of the party as it existed in the social circles of artists who traversed the Modernist terrain (The Bloomsbury Circle, The Algonquin Roundtable, Stein's Paris Mecca for the "lost generation" of painters and writers, and the Post-Impressionist movement).

We'll study fictive representations of party creations in Modernist texts, examining the role of the host/hostess, various types of soirees, and the party's function in each text. We will initiate our discussion with an historical background on the party before we arrive at Modernism's grand affair. Through study of current social arbitration, we'll be able to measure cross-currents and reverberations between the Victorian, Modern, and Postmodern eras. You're all invited!

 

General Learning Outcomes of All XIDS Classes:

v     To establish an understanding of the interrelationships among the arts and ideas.

v     To give the student a framework inclusive of the historical settings, cultural forces, and philosophical wellsprings that contribute to the production of artistic works.

v     To experience participating in the performance of a creative, collaborative work of art.  

 

Objectives for XIDS 2100-07:

v     Students will learn about the literary period commonly referred to as the Modernist era.

v     Students will practice a sustained application of a single literary motif across artistic boundary lines.

v     Students will examine the complexities of said motif as it applies to the artists’ interpretation of cultural and artistic institutions.

v     Students will critically read about the time period, the artists creating during the era, and, finally, focus on the texts Moderns created within their cultural milieu.

v     Students will participate in five cultural events pertaining to the course.

 

Required Texts and Supplies:

v     Books:

·        Cunningham, Michael  The Hours

·        Woolf, Virginia Mrs. Dalloway

 

v     Excerpts from the following texts on reserve in the library under author name:

·        The Life of the Party (Ames)

·        Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management  (Beeton)

·        Bloomsbury Recalled (Bell)

·        “The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party” (Carroll)

·         “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (Eliot)

·        The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)

·        Passage to India (Forester)

·        Wit's End: Days and Nights of the Algonquin Round Table (Gaines)

·        Barefoot Contessa: Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun (Garten)

·         “The Dead” (Joyce)

·        “The Garden Party” (Mansfield)

·        “The Baron”  (Mansfield)

·        “Germans at Meat” (Mansfield)

·        “Frau Brechenmacher Attends a Wedding” (Mansfield)

·        “The Last Tea”  (Parker)

·        “Big Blonde” (Parker)

·        “Eeyore’s Birthday Party” (Milne)

·        Found Meals of the Lost Generation (Rodriguez-Hunter)

·        The Voyage Out (Woolf)

·        To the Lighthouse (Woolf)

·         “A Sketch of the Past” (Woolf)

·        “The New Dress”  (Woolf)

·        “Old Bloomsbury”  (Woolf)

 

Note:  all of these items are on reserve in the library.   You may temporarily check out these items with your student I.D so that you can photocopy them.  Please note that I expect you to have these texts in class so that you may observe specific passages during lecture.

 

Supplies:

v     30 Scantron sheets (PLEASE NOTE:  You must have a Scantron sheet in order to take the daily quizzes and examinations.  I will not accept quizzes or tests on regular paper).

v     Number two pencils

 

Major Assignments/Course Requirements:

v     Daily reading quizzes (you’ll need Scantron sheets and number two pencils for each class day, beginning January 13th) (20%)

v     Five one-page, single-spaced (about 500 words) Reading Responses (each will have a short assignment sheet and a specific due date) (20%)

v     Your participation in/attendance at five cultural events and 150-word maximum reflection piece for each event you choose (there is an attached list of options from which to choose) (20%)

v     Two major tests (each a combination of multiple choice Scantron questions and short answer written) (40%)

 

Attendance:

Because a bulk of the information will be shared in lecture and due to the preponderance of daily assignments, attendance is strongly encouraged. 

 

Late Work:

You must see me in conference if you wish to discuss extenuating circumstances surrounding late work; an essay or assignment is late if you neglect to turn it in at the beginning of class on the due date.  As a general rule, I do not accept late work. DO NOT place late work outside of my office door without consulting me; I will not accept the work.

 

Make-Up Work:

You may not make up missed quizzes, whether due to absence or forgotten Scantron.  You will have ample time to complete all other assignments. If, for some reason, you feel you have a case for submitting late work, you must see me to discuss your reasoning.

 

Special Needs:

Any student who requires special accommodations should bring the appropriate paperwork to my office during the first week of the semester so that we can devise a plan

for your success.

 

Plagiarism & Academic Dishonesty
From the English Department’s website:  “The Department of English and Philosophy defines plagiarism as taking personal credit for the words and ideas of others as they are presented in electronic, print, and verbal sources. The Department expects that students will accurately credit sources in all assignments. An equally dishonest practice is fabricating sources or facts; it is another form of misrepresenting the truth. Plagiarism is grounds for failing the course.  The University policies for handling Academic Dishonesty are found at the following internet URLs:

·        The Faculty Handbook http://www.westga.edu/~vpaa/handrev/

·        Student Uncatalogue: "Rights and Responsibilities" http://www.westga.edu/handbook/”

 

Administrivia:

v     I reserve the right to amend this document with further handouts.

v     You may e-mail me, make appointments, contact me at the office, or call me at home (334 332 2736) up until 8 p.m.  Make sure you have read the assignments carefully or have consulted this document before calling to ask me a question that you could answer yourself.