Mrs D #4

In what ways is the juxtaposition ("mirroring" or "doubling" might be helpful synonyms) of characters a distinctly modernist technique? You might think in terms of narrative structure, or you might think about how the juxtaposition of specific characters in Mrs. Dalloway deals with stereotypical modernist issues (look back in your notes).

Mrs D #3

Carry on the debate over who is stronger/more courageous: Clarissa or Septimus? Write at least 3 sentences explaining your answer. Bonus points for multiple comments/responding to your classmates - only your initial answer need be 3 full sentences, any others can be less.

London pics!

I had such a great time with you guys in London! [n.b., last one doesn't belong in London, but Sully's excited to meet you all in November!]

Mrs D #2

SHARE YOUR BONUS PROJECT HERE!

Pick one aspect of your trip (or Parisian life) that can be related to our study of Modernism or to Mrs. Dalloway. It could be anything from a painting to a piece of architecture to the buses passing Regent’s Park or Volkspark Freidrichshain or Canal St Martin. Write a paragraph (5+ sentences) explaining how the object/experience is modernish and how it relates to our studies.

Mrs D #1

Consider what you've learned about Modernism from the introduction and 3 poems we read + the presentations you and your classmates gave. What do you think are the most central or most distinctive aspects of this movement? What strikes you as especially unique or interesting or perhaps disturbing?

Welcome to our class blog!

Modernists struggled to comprehend and to render a rapidly changing world. A world gassed, torched, deconstructed, abstracted, rebuilt, democratized, capitalized, jazzed, mechanized, motored beyond recognition.

How to make it recognizable?

This is one of the central questions we'll explore this year. How do writers use language to render their world recognizable? What kind of world is it that they construct? How is our own world connected, as by a spider's thread, to theirs?

I thought it would be interesting to carry out part of this literary/linguistic/socio/personal exploration on a technological "advancement" that has radically changed the art of writing in our own generation. Many a blogger has, with varying degrees of eloquence, used this medium in a 21st-century attempt to make more sense of his/her world. The project, then, is not so far removed from that of our Modernists.

So here's the idea: Every week I will pose a question based on our reading, or a class discussion, or an ancillary text. In responding to the questions and to each other, this blog will hopefully become a space to make the texts we explore more recognizable - even, dare I say, more interesting, more intimately woven into our own existence.

Here's the nitty-gritty:
* Once a week, you're required to write your own response to my blog question. You may skip 1 of these responses per trimester.

* In addition, you are required to compose 3 separate responses per trimester to something your classmates have written.

* Your grade will be based on thoughtfulness, originality, and use of texts. Each response should be a minimum of 3 sentences. Feel free to use casual language and abbreviations, and to engage in debates with one another (even with me!) - just keep it respectful.

* You can receive bonus credit for participating frequently in the blog.

Any questions, post here or email me: lisa.higgins@sis-sevres.net