Embracing British Modernism

Author: Victoria Wilson

            I knew going into the internship with the Gumberg Library that I would eventually have to create a Library Guide of my own. Surprisingly I have not changed my mind a million times and have stuck with the original answer I gave when I was first interviewed for the position. I am working on a Library Guide for British Modernism. 

           British Modernism is a topic that was first introduced to me when I took Survey of British Literature II in my second semester of sophomore year. During that class, we went through a variety of different literary genres and traditions but modernism always stuck with me the most. The novel, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys was the first piece of literature I read for class and enjoyed. Since sophomore year, I have been waiting for a class that focused mainly on this subject. My patience was rewarded this Fall when Dr. Suh decided to teach a class on the subject. On the first day of class, I discovered a lot of students like myself decided to take British Modernism class because they enjoyed the Survey of British Literature II. Dr. Suh was quick to convey that a lot of what we would be doing in class is focusing on modernist works by women, people within the British colonies and the working class. A lot of these authors shift the focus away from traditional characters, locations, and definitions in modernist texts. It is incredibly exciting to be approaching modernism from non-traditional points of view. 

           The work that I do in the British Modernism class is directly effecting the work on my Library Guide. All the authors read in class have been added to the page of authors on the Guide. I am currently in the process of adding a link of works written by and about them along with biographical links. The Guide will also contain reference works to modernism and British modernism. The will also be videos about British Modernism and the authors featured on the guide. I am extremely excited to see where this Guide will take me and to dive deeper into the world of British Modernism. 

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