english 436a novels of the great war professor stephen ross | @ghostprof | saross@uvic.ca |...

English 436aNOVELS OF THE GREAT WAR

Professor Stephen Ross | @ghostprof | saross@uvic.ca | 250.721.7237

Why the “Great” War?

biggest war in history to that time

16 million dead

another 16 million wounded

the “war to end war”

A Mills Bomb (hand grenade)

WWI gave usmachine guns

tinned food

aerial bombardment

submarines

tanks

flamethrowers

poison gas

tracer ammunition

mobile x-ray machines

maxi-pads

tissues

teabags

wrist watches

zippers

It also gave us

trenchfoot

It also gave us

trenchfoot

Shell Shock

It also gave us

trenchfoot

Shell Shock

the first global pandemic

of influenza

It also gave us

trenchfoot

Shell Shock

the first global pandemic

of influenza

the twentieth century

Degenerationcivilization “an old bitch gone in the teeth”

ends “not with a bang, but with a whimper”

decadence

aestheticism

miscegenation

zionism

The West was soft, weak, effeminate, fading, flabby, flaccid

Degeneration

Oscar Wilde1854-1900

craving for violence destruction cleansing purification cauterization purging explosive change revolution

craving for violence destruction cleansing purification cauterization purging explosive change revolution

Syllabus, Attendance, etc.http://ghostprof.org/teaching/currentupcoming-courses/

436afall2014

attendance – you’ll be dropped if you don’t come today and Monday (note to self: take attendance now) (note to you: if I’m not taking attendance, remind me)

shorter version: buy the books, do the assignments, don’t cheat, come to class (please), talk to me (seriously)

let’s learn something