Virginia Woolf and the Modernist Experience (Blockseminar)

Course Description

A major representative of literary modernism, Virginia Woolf and her novels have lost little interest even for a contemporary readership. This is due not least to the technical innovations displayed in her writing, which laid the groundwork for later developments in the history of the novel such as the playful experiments of postmodernist fiction. But Woolf is also appreciated for her early contributions to the redefinition of the role of woman in 'modern' society, especially through A Room of One's Own (1929) and Three Guineas (1938). What is more, Woolf herself is an exemplary figure for the difficult positioning of the modern subject in a world which offers ever fewer certainties and where the borderlines between sanity and madness tend to blur. This workshop provides an introduction to Woolf's work in the realm of fiction and non-fiction. Textual analysis will be complemented by filmic adaptations, among them the recent award-winning The Hours (directed by Stephen Daldry).

Workshop schedule:

Thu, 16 Oct, 9.15-10.45 am/ Thu, 23 Oct, 9.15-10.45 am/ Fri, 8 Nov, 9 am-5 pm/ Sat, 9 Nov, 9 am-2 pm/ Thu, 20 Nov, 3.30 pm-6.45 pm/ Fri, 21 Nov, 9 am-4 pm

Required reading:

Virginia Woolf. Three Great Novels: Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, The Waves. London: Faber & Faber 1992 (or separate editions of Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, the two novels which will be dealt with in class).
-----. A Room of One's Own and Three Guineas. Ed. Morag Shiach. Oxford: OUP, 1998.
-----. Orlando: A Biography. Ed. Brenda Lyons. London: Penguin, 2000.

Prerequisites:

"Introduction to the Study of Literature"

Requirements for Credit:

Earning a course credit in this Proseminar presupposes that students have already taken the lecture course "Introduction to the Study of Literature" and that they attend the seminar on a regular basis. Apart from writing a term paper of between 10 and 12 pages, students will be asked to give a short presentation on a specified topic.

Registration:

To register, students are to send an e-mail to Dr. Egbert by 15 September, stating their name, semester standing and subjects.