ENGLISH 236 Ð SECTION 101:
SURVEY OF WORLD LITERATURE II
LITERARY ENCOUNTERS
WITH THE OTHER
Spring 2004
MWF 1:25-2:15 PM
Dr. Lincoln Shlensky
Office: Humanities
270
Office Hours: MWF
11:00-11:30 + 2:15-3:00
E-Mail:
shlensky@jaguar1.usouthal.edu
COURSE OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION
This course will
present a survey of 18th century and 20th century
literature, with the aim of comparing different representations of the ÒOtherÓ
Ð that which is culturally and politically foreign, troubling, or out-of-place Ð
in Western and non-Western fiction.
We begin with two works from 18th century France
demonstrating that Europe conceived itself as a political project in relation
to its cultural and social exclusions.
By the early 20th century, as Enlightenment universalism and Romantic idealism had
reached the limits of their cogency, ConradÕs labyrinthine Heart of Darkness
attests to the new ways in which imperialism and colonialism shaped EuropeÕs
conception of the Other and itself.
The final part of the course is thus dedicated to reading and analyzing
literary responses to European colonization, its dissolution, and the cultural
dilemmas that arose in its aftermath.
In search of new modes of understanding cross-cultural encounters and
conflict, we will conclude the semester
by studying the fiction of writers who are precariously balanced between
the hegemonic West and its decentered cultural transmissions in postcolonial
North Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
Students in this course will read a broad range of fictional texts
written at different times, in different locales, and under different social
and aesthetic pressures. By the
end of the course students will know more about the cultural models through
which the West was conceived. They
will also have been introduced to literary models that challenge Ð and
sometimes reinforce Ð conceptions of Otherness formed in response to the broad
currents of civilizational encounter.
Montesquieu, Persian Letters (1721)
Voltaire, Candide (1759)
Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1902)
Djebar, Fantasia (1985)
Rushdie, MidnightÕs Children (1980)
Roy, The God of Small Things (1997)
A notebook with
paper that can be removed easily.
COURSE GRADES
Final course grades
will be determined as follows:
1) CLASS PREPARATION
AND PARTICIPATION (including readiness to answer questions about the assigned
reading and possible pop-quizzes or response papers): 20%
2) MIDTERM EXAM
(including a take-home essay question): 35%
3) FINAL EXAM
(including a take-home essay question): 45%
In accordance with
the Americans with Disabilities Act, students with bona fide disabilities will
be afforded reasonable accommodations.
Please contact the Office of Special Student Services, which is
located in the Student Center, Room 270, tel. 460-7212.
Note: Students will
be given adequate notification should it become necessary to change course
requirements or the schedule of assignments.
More than five (5) absences shall result in reduction of the studentÕs grade by half-a-grade per absence. Please set all cellular phones to the ÒoffÓ position during class.
Students are
required by the University to have regular access to e-mail. The instructor will collect student
e-mail addresses at the beginning of the semester, and students are expected to
check e-mail at least twice a week for notices relevant to the course. Please alert the instructor immediately
of any e-mail address changes.
Due to the nature of literary art and intellectual discussion, sensitive topics may be broached in this course. If a student should feel uncomfortable with course materials, discussion, or the behavior of anyone in the class, it is the studentÕs responsibility to alert the instructor as soon as possible so that the instructor may address the matter.
If a student exhibits writing difficulties in course-related assignments, the instructor may request that the student receive tutoring at The Writing Center. It is the studentÕs responsibility to schedule tutoring with a Writing Center consultant. The Writing Center office is located in room 207 of Alpha Hall East. To schedule an appointment with a writing consultant, call the Writing Center at 460-6480.
(NOTE: ALL READING ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE ON THE DATE LISTED BELOW.)
WEEK I
Welcome and Introductions
Rudyard Kipling, ÒThe White ManÕs BurdenÓ and Ernest Crosby, ÒThe Real ÔWhite ManÕs BurdenÕÓ
Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, Persian Letters, pp. 39-65
Montesquieu, Persian Letters, pp. 66-93
WEEK II
Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday: no class
50% refund period begins
Montesquieu, Persian Letters, pp. 94-147
Montesquieu, Persian Letters, pp. 148-176
WEEK III
Montesquieu, Persian Letters, pp. 176-202
Montesquieu, Persian Letters, pp. 202-228
NO CLASS
WEEK IV
Montesquieu, Persian Letters, pp. 229-284
Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire, Candide, pp. 1-17
Voltaire, Candide, pp. 17-35
WEEK V
Voltaire, Candide, pp. 35-54
Voltaire, Candide, pp. 55-75
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, pp. 17-37
WEEK VI
Conrad, Heart of Darkness, pp. 37-57
Conrad, Heart of Darkness, pp. 57-77
Conrad, Heart of Darkness, pp. 77-99
WEEK VII
* MIDTERM EXAM *
Assia Djebar, Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade, ÒChronologyÓ (p. xi), and pp. 1-13
Djebar, Fantasia, pp. 14-27
WEEK VIII
Djebar, Fantasia, pp. 28-38
Djebar, Fantasia, pp. 64-79
NO CLASS
WEEK IX
Djebar, Fantasia, pp. 130-140, 179-185
Salman Rushdie, MidnightÕs Children, pp. 1-19
Rushdie, MidnightÕs Children, pp. 20-44
WEEK X
Spring Break
WEEK XI
Rushdie, MidnightÕs Children, pp. 44-68
Rushdie, MidnightÕs Children, pp. 69-85
Rushdie, MidnightÕs Children, pp. 86-109
WEEK XII
Rushdie, MidnightÕs Children, pp. 109-133
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 1-21
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 21-46
WEEK XIII
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 46-75
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 75-102
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 102-129
WEEK XIV
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 130-156
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 157-183
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 184-210
WEEK XV
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 210-238
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 239-267
Course Evaluations
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 268-296
WEEK XVI
Roy, The God of Small Things, pp. 297-321
* FINAL EXAM *
* FINAL EXAM *