Great Literature 101 - Modern Literature

A collaborative, low-stress canon: modern literature (mid-1800s onward), chosen for cultural importance, stylistic range, and readability.

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🎯 Goals & Constraints

• Focus on major works of modern literature (roughly 1840s–late 20th century)

• Emphasize varied styles, voices, and geographies

• Avoid books that are:

  • Excessively long
  • Infamously difficult or punishing
  • Better admired than actually read

• Prioritize works that still feel alive to a modern reader

This is meant to be rigorous but humane.

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📚 Core Reading List (Great Literature 101 - Finalized)

1. The Old Man and the Sea — Ernest Hemingway ✅ Completed
2. The Stranger — Albert Camus ✅ Completed
3. The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald 🔵 Reading
4. The Death of Ivan Ilyich — Leo Tolstoy ⚪ Not Started
5. Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë ⚪ Not Started
6. Mrs Dalloway — Virginia Woolf ⚪ Not Started
7. Notes from Underground — Fyodor Dostoevsky ⚪ Not Started
8. Things Fall Apart — Chinua Achebe ⚪ Not Started
9. The Left Hand of Darkness — Ursula K. Le Guin ⚪ Not Started
10. Beloved — Toni Morrison ⚪ Not Started

This is the finalized list for Great Literature 101. Future books will be part of a new syllabus (Great Literature 102, etc.).

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🧠 Style & Movement Coverage (Why These?)

• Minimalism / Iceberg theory
• Gothic realism & psychological interiority
• Existentialism (proto + modern)
• High modernism & stream of consciousness
• Postcolonial literature
• Literary speculative fiction

Together, these form a strong backbone for understanding how modern literature evolved.

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🗓️ Syllabus Structure

This course is structured as a 24-week reading plan with:

• Reading pace calibrated for real life (~30–60 pages per week on average)
• Buffer weeks built into the schedule
• Optional supplemental essays or short stories
• Reflection / discussion prompts (lightweight, not academic busywork)

Pacing approach:

• 1 book every 2–3 weeks
• Alternating long / short works
• Thematic arcs organized into units

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🔄 Brainstorming & Iteration Notes

Use this space to:

• Swap books in or out
• Add alternates or honorable mentions
• Note reactions after finishing a book
• Flag anything that feels like a slog

(Keep this section messy on purpose.)

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➕ Future Expansions (Optional)

• Short story weeks (Chekhov, Kafka, Borges)
• Poetry interludes (Dickinson, Eliot, Plath)
• A parallel genre track (fantasy / sci-fi / weird)
• Film adaptations as companions

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📆 24-Week Reading Syllabus (Version 1.0)

Pacing philosophy: ~30–60 pages per week on average. Some weeks are intentionally light to keep momentum and enjoyment high.

Unit I — Clear Voices, Big Ideas (Weeks 1–4)

Ease in with clarity, restraint, and short forms.

Weeks 1–2 📘 The Old Man and the Sea — Hemingway ✅ Completed Focus: Minimalism, symbolism, dignity, endurance

Weeks 3–4 📘 The Stranger — Camus ✅ Completed Focus: Existentialism, absurdity, emotional detachment

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Unit II — Society, Illusion, and the Self (Weeks 5–8)

Readable classics with increasing psychological depth.

Weeks 5–6 📘 The Great Gatsby — Fitzgerald 🔵 Reading Focus: Style, the American Dream, illusion vs reality

Weeks 7–8 📘 The Death of Ivan Ilyich — Tolstoy ⚪ Not Started Focus: Mortality, authenticity, moral reckoning

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Unit III — Interior Lives & Modern Consciousness (Weeks 9–14)

More demanding stylistically, but deeply rewarding.

Weeks 9–11 📘 Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë ⚪ Not Started Focus: Voice, morality, independence, gothic realism

Weeks 12–14 📘 Mrs Dalloway — Virginia Woolf ⚪ Not Started Focus: Stream of consciousness, time, post-war trauma

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Unit IV — The Self at War With Society (Weeks 15–18)

Psychological pressure and philosophical provocation.

Weeks 15–16 📘 Notes from Underground — Dostoevsky ⚪ Not Started Focus: Free will, resentment, modern alienation

Weeks 17–18 📘 Things Fall Apart — Chinua Achebe ⚪ Not Started Focus: Tradition vs change, colonialism, tragedy

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Unit V — Memory, History, and the Mythic (Weeks 19–24)

Language-rich, emotionally powerful closing arc.

Weeks 19–21 📘 The Left Hand of Darkness — Ursula K. Le Guin ⚪ Not Started Focus: Gender, culture, empathy, speculative anthropology

Weeks 22–24 📘 Beloved — Toni Morrison ⚪ Not Started Focus: Memory, trauma, history, myth

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📝 Weekly Reflection Prompts (Lightweight)

Optional, but recommended. No essays, just thinking.

• What felt surprisingly modern in this work?
• What did the author assume about human nature?
• What stylistic choice stood out most?
• Did this book change how you see something?

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🔁 Built-In Flexibility

• Any 2–3 week block can stretch to 4 weeks without breaking the flow
• Units are modular; books can be swapped without derailing the whole plan
• If momentum dips, insert a buffer week or short story interlude

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This syllabus is finalized for Great Literature 101. As you read, note any reactions or adjustments in the “Brainstorming & Iteration Notes” section above.