American Modernism

HIRT. Humanities Independent Research Teams

American Modernism

by Martine Bigos (VI), Nicole Moncada (VI), Mirika Jambudi (V), James Thomas (V), Julia Eng (IV), Sriya Tallapragada (III) Advisor: Mr. Burkhart

“That was when I learned that words are no good; that words don’t ever fit even what they are trying to say at.” Or so says Addie Bundren in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, as she grapples with the relationship between language and human experience. The research of the American Modernism HIRT has similar concerns. In what way does fiction position itself as a form of knowledge? Where does it fail to match experience and where does it generate its own? What does fiction actually represent, if anything? What tensions exist between fiction and historical and artistic records?

In past years of the project, we used selected works by modernist American author William Faulkner (As I Lay Dying, The Sound and The Fury), along with selected philosophical works, to develop a framework for thinking about literature. We particularly looked at how Faulkner’s prose encourages, and perhaps demands, an experience that mirrors how we experience the world: full of (re)processing memories, shifting perspectives, andelements ambiguity.

We are currently researching the philosophical and literary inspirations for Modernism, particularly the novel Moby Dick and selected works of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. We are completing short fiction writing prompts that reflect these works in hopes of creating a collection of modernist stories.