Spring 2022 Special Topic: Trauma, Disability and The Great War

World War One (1914-18) is considered the first truly modern, industrialized war in history; it was also one of the most costly and brutal, leaving millions dead and maimed in its wake.  The war’s recent centennial was the occasion for a tremendous upsurge of critical and creative interest across numerous disciplines, including history, sociology, women studies, and literature.  In this course we will discuss a variety of works by those directly or indirectly involved in the conflict as they intersect with ongoing critical discourses in disability, trauma, and gender studies.  War has traditionally been a proving ground for young men, yet modern warfare is as likely to unsettle as it is to affirm one’s sense of manhood.  In light of this, we will pay particular attention to the construction of maleness and the changing roles of women as they are represented in the writings of the war’s participants, witnesses, and critics.  Probable novels include Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Rebecca West’s Return of the Soldier, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, and Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence, along with nonfiction by less well-known figures.  These will be supplemented by recent fiction by Pat Barker and Emma Donoghue, and pertinent readings in contemporary criticism and theory.  Students are also welcome to pursue their own interests, whether it be in graphic narrative, film or some other medium or genre.