The Persistence of Modernism in Damon Galgut’s in A Strange Room, Arctic Summer and the Promise

Abstract

This dissertation explores the persistence and evolution of modernist aesthetics in contemporary South African literature through Damon Galgut’s In a Strange Room, Arctic Summer, and The Promise. I argue that Galgut’s novels exemplify a global modernism that transcends its historical and geographical origins, embodying a cosmopolitan spirit of critique. By employing modernist techniques like fragmented narratives, shifting perspectives, and self-reflexive narration, Galgut’s work engages with the complexities of post-apartheid South Africa while contributing to a broader, transnational literary discourse. Through his exploration of subjectivity, alienation, and the tension between personal and collective histories, Galgut’s fiction reveals the ongoing relevance of modernism in addressing questions of identity and belonging. Arctic Summer’s meditation on E.M. Forster’s life situates Galgut within a broader modernist tradition, while interrogating the limitations of that tradition in representing marginalised identities. In doing so, Galgut’s novels enact a dual movement: they acknowledge modernism’s historical constraints while demonstrating its potential to amplify voices from previously peripheral literary spaces. Drawing on classical modernist theories (Lukács, Williams, Jameson) and new modernist studies (Detloff, Friedman, Walkowitz), this study examines how Galgut’s work critiques and reanimates modernism as a dynamic, living aesthetic. His novels invite readers to reconsider how expanding modernism beyond a narrow canonical framework creates space for ongoing reflection and reformation. I argue that the modernist ethos of questioning fixed meaning remains vital in contemporary global literature as a tool for exploring existential tensions - between self and society, hope and futility, connection and isolation. Ultimately, this dissertation contributes to the redefinition of modernism as a global and evolving aesthetic. By examining Galgut’s work, I demonstrate how contemporary literature can both extend and critique modernist traditions, addressing historical trauma, shifting identities, and the search for belonging. This study affirms the continued relevance of modernist aesthetics as a flexible, dynamic framework that enables contemporary literature to confront the legacies of history and the possibilities of a more inclusive, cosmopolitan future.