Reclaiming Space: Buildings in Modernist Literature and Film

Author

Sreenjaya Ria Banerjee, Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

6-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

English

Advisor

Nico Israel

Subject Categories

English Language and Literature

Keywords

Alain Resnais, buildings, Le Corbusier, modernism, T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf

Abstract

This dissertation argues that modernists like Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, and Alain Resnais construct literary and filmic works that rely on interruptions and elliptical narration to gesture towards an aesthetics of modernity that counters the interest in monoliths concurrently shown by architectural modernism. This is particularly evident in the context of the war memorial, where regimented public memory is countered by the artistic works discussed through their emphasis on private memorials that are changeable, contingent, and mutable. This is a fundamentally altered vision of twentieth century modernity than that embraced by the architectural mode.

Recommended Citation

Banerjee, Sreenjaya Ria, "Reclaiming Space: Buildings in Modernist Literature and Film" (2014). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/165