Works in Translation – 3 works originally written in a
language other than English, with a focus on the literary,
cultural and contextual aspects of texts
.
1. Woman at Point Zero (Egypt, Arabic)
2. Season of Migration to the North (Sudan, Arabic)
3. God’s Bits of Wood (Senegal, French)
Stage 1: Reading, Research and Interactive Oral
Stage 2: Reflection (300-400 Words)
Stage 3: Supervised Writing (Essay on 1 work)
*Stages 1 & 2 completed for all works in this section,
Stage 3 & 4 will build upon writing completed for 1 &
2*
Stage 1: Reading, Research and Interactive Oral
1. Woman at Point Zero MUST be finished by Wed. 2/8/12
2. ALL study questions MUST be finished by Fri. 2/10/12
3. Your groups and subject for the Interactive Oral MUST be
chosen by Monday, 2/6/12.
4. Your subject for the Interactive Oral will be chosen from
among the study questions. You will choose one study
question that lends itself to an extended study and research
the context of that question and the novel.
5. Research sources must be provided in MLA format.
FOR EXAMPLE:
If your group were to choose question #1, your research
component would be to research class hierarchy in
Egyptian society, both ancient and modern.
Stage 2: Presenting the Interactive Oral
1. We will begin presenting the Interactive Orals in
conjunction with the review of the study questions on
Monday 2/13/12. Presentations will be less than 10 mins.
2. If there is no group to go on a particular question, we will
just have a class discussion.
3. To research your question, use the guidelines presented in
the handout, “A Wider World”:
a. Relevant elements of an author’s biography
b. Historical, social or political aspects of a work
c. Geographical backdrop of the work
d. Sociological or anthropological situation of characters
e. Cultural issues or practices having to do with
economics, gender, class or race.
Stage 3: Reflective Statements:
After finishing the works ALL students will compose
a short reflection responding to the following question:
How was your understanding of cultural and
contextual considerations of the work developed
through the interactive oral?
Responses should be 300-400 words, typed, in MLA
format. See the sample in “A Wider World” handout
for help.
Stage 4: Supervised In-Class Writing
After we finish reading all three (3) novels AND
completed all three (3) reflective statements, you will
complete a short essay conveying your initial ideas on
one of several prompts that I will provide.
This will later be developed into a World Literature
Paper of 1200-1500 words, which is externally graded.
This paper will count for 25% of your IB grade.
See the sample prompts on p. 136 of the “A Wider
World” handout for an idea of what the questions will
be like.
Stage 5: World Literature Paper 1
1. After completing stage 4, you will develop a
working thesis for the World Lit Paper 1.
2. See p. 137-8 in the “A Wider World” Handout
for a summary of the assignment details and a
sample paper.
3. This paper WILL be finished this year, but will
not be sent to IB until next February.
4. If you do not complete a World Lit Paper 1 this
year, you will fail the 4th marking period
automatically.
REVIEW OF DUE DATES:
1. Woman at Point Zero MUST be finished by Wed. 2/8/12
2. ALL study questions MUST be finished by Fri. 2/10/12
3. Your groups and subject for the Interactive Oral MUST be
chosen by Monday, 2/6/12.
4. Interactive Oral Presentations will run the week of 2/13/12.
5. Reflective statements will be written and due the week of
2/21/12
6. Supervised In-Class Writing will be completed the week of
2/27-3/1.
7. Reading of the second novel, Season of Migration to the
North will be due the first full week of March. Study
questions and vocab will be handed out sometime in the
last two weeks of February.