Heather Palmer
World Literature: Texts in Contexts
More and more mankind will discover that we have to turn to poetry to interpret life for
us, to console us, to sustain us. Without poetry, our science will appear imcomplete; and
most of what now passes with us for religion and philosophy will be replaced by poetry.
(Matthew Arnold [1880] 1970:340)
Achilles and Werther, Oedipus and Tom Jones, Antigone and Anna Karenina: their
individual existence . . . cannot be distinguished from their social and historical
environment. Their human significance, their specific individuality cannot be separated
from the context in which they were created.
(George Lukás [1957] 1972: 476)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
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This course is designed to introduce you to a sampling of literature from around the
world. As such, we will bypass British and American literature and instead, focus on the
literature of cultures that is not typically covered in most high schools and college
composition courses. Our central objective in this course is to encourage thought
provoking comparisons and contrasts of value systems, styles of living, habits of mind,
and lyric, narrative and dramatic traditions and techniques. As the editors of our
anthology point out, there will also be many opportunities for those fascinating but more
speculative (and in the end never fully answerable) questions as to what aspects of a
culture, ethnicity, race or artistic tradition (and possibly gender) orient it toward some
forms of self-expression and not others.
Since this course covers world literature from the beginning of time until the present day,
we are in a particularly unique but potentially bewildering position as we do not have
time to thoroughly acquaint ourselves with any one period or culture. We will sample
from the world's richest literature, seeking to discover connections among the various
traditions rather than attempting to fully define any one tradition or culture as a discrete
entity. Although the former approach can be viewed as a form of American cultural
colonialism which seeks to homogenize radical differences among world cultures, I
prefer to see this approach as a branching out, a turning outward, an embracing of the
cultural Other(s) by tracing connections to the self. As the editors of The Norton
Anthology of World Literature tell us, "As in the forest world the effect of roots is the
production of spreading leaves and branches and the effect of spreading leaves and
branches is the invigoration of roots, so in our human world the vigor of cultural
traditions thrives rather from reaching out than from closing in."
LEARNING OUTCOMES
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Ability to read texts closely and to articulate the value of close reading in the
study of literature and rhetoric.
Ability to explicate texts written in a wide variety of forms, styles, structures, and
modes.
Ability to recognize and appreciate the importance of major literary genres,
subgenres, and periods.
Ability to respond imaginatively to the content and style of texts.
Ability to write clearly, effectively, and imaginatively, and to adjust writing style
appropriately to audience, content and subject.
Ability to develop and carry out research projects and to articulate them within
appropriate conceptual and methodological frameworks, including the ability to
recognize when information is needed, and to locate, evaluate, organize, and
incorporate information effectively.
REQUIRED TEXTS
The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces (Expanded Edition, One Volume)
Course Packet, available from professor
Optional: A good dictionary of literary terms such as Chris Baldick's Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Literary Terms.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
Please read the attached sheet entitled “A Framework for Judging Grades.” Final
drafts should follow the attached “Format for Acceptable Papers.” Papers are due at the
beginning of class on the assigned due date. Late papers will be penalized one letter
grade for each day they are late. Please note that under this system, a paper due on
Monday but not submitted until Wednesday can receive a grade no higher than “C”,
regardless of its quality. I will allow one rewrite of any paper that receives below a “C”,
for a replacement grade not to exceed “C”. Be sure to discuss re-writes with me in
advance.
A student's final grade in this course is based on a 100 point scale and will be derived
from the following assignments and tasks:
Participation/In-class Responses:
Oral Presentations (1):
Written Responses(2):
Mid-Term:
Final:
Final Paper:
15 points
10 points
10 points
20 points
20 points
25 points
IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS
3
We will frequently be writing responses to the texts in class under time constraints.
Therefore, anyone with an unexcused absence the day of these assignments will not be
allowed to make them up.
CLASS MEETINGS
Because this course relies upon in-class writing, discussion, and group workshops for its
success, you cannot pass the class without regular, productive attendance. You are
expected to prepare for, attend, and participate in each of the class meetings; your
“Participation and Preparation” grade is based on your in-class work. A large part of this
grade will be based on a portfolio that will be turned in periodically throughout the
semester. The final course grade will be reduced one (1) letter grade for each three (3)
unexcused absences. Absences are excused only for athletes and band members on road
trips, for students sufficiently ill to obtain a doctor’s excuse and for those with a death in
the family. Athletes and band members know in advance when they must be out of town
and must submit their written work in advance.
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the submission of written work (words and/or ideas) which is not the
student’s own, and which has not been properly acknowledged as belonging to another
person. Evidence of plagiarism will result in automatic failure of the course. If you are
unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, please speak with me BEFORE you submit
your work.
All assignments must be completed in order to pass the course
SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS
If you have a disability that may require assistance or accommodations, or if you have
questions related to any accommodations for testing, note-takers, readers, etc., please
speak with me as soon as possible. Bring a copy of your Student Accommodation form to
the meeting. If you do not have an Accommodation Form but need accommodations,
make an appointment with the Office of Disability Services (suite 230, New Student
Center, extensions 3-9044) to arrange for accommodations.
THE WRITING CENTER
The Writing Center is located on the ninth floor of the General Classroom Building, room
976, phone: 404/651-2906. The staff there will help with any specific questions you may
have about your papers before you turn them in, but they will not write your papers or
proofread them for you. Take advantage of this resource. Go in on a walk in basis for a
tutor, or sign up for a tutor to meet you individually on a weekly basis.
SUPPORT SERVICES
The CPS Office offers counseling and psychological services to students with personal,
educational, or vocational problems. For more information, call 404/651-1777 ext 308.
Campus Computer Locations: 109 Library South 404/651-2686, open 24 hrs on a space
available basis; 200 Arts and Music Building, open on a space available basis from 8:00
4
am to 10:00 pm Monday-Thursday and 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on Friday; Alpharetta
Center Microcomputer Lab 678/556-2200, open on a space available basis from 10:00
am to 10:00 pm Monday-Thursday and 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Friday and Saturday.
COURSE SCHEDULE (DEVIATIONS WILL OCCUR)
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Week 1: Beginnings to 100 A.D: Invention of Writing and the Earliest Literatures.
Jan 13 & 15
Tues:
Introductions and Syllabus
Thurs:
The Greeks and the Formation of the Modern Mind
Aristophanes (450-385 BCE) Lysistrata, 466
Week 2: Beginnings to 100 A.D.: Invention of Writing and the Earliest Literatures
Jan 20 & 22
Tues:
No Class
Thurs:
Euripides Meda
Aristotle (384-322 BCE) Poetics, 520-526
Sign up for two oral presentations
Week 3: Beginnings to 100 A.D: The Invention of Writing and Earliest Literatures
Jan 27 Only
Tues:
Poetry and Thought in Early China and India
Chuang Chou (369-286 BC), Discussion on Making All Things Equal,
555-566
The Bhagavad-Gita (Sanskrit, first century BCE) 612-626
Oral Presentation
Thurs:
No Class
Week 4: The Roman Empire
Feb 3 & 5
Tues:
The Roman Empire
Ovid (43 BCE-17 AD), The Metamorphoses, 683-696
Oral Presentation
Begin Part II 100-1500
Thurs:
From Roman Empire to Christian Europe
The Bible: The New Testament (Greek, 1st Century), 708-721
Augustine (354-430), Confessions, 722-738
Oral Presentation
Week 5: Part II 100-1500 AD
Feb 10 & 12
Tues:
The Rise of Islam and Islamic Literature
The Koran (Arabic, 610-632) 868-888
The Thousand and One Nights (Arabic, 14th Century), 923-948
5
Oral Presentation
Thurs:
The Thousand and One Nights cont.
Week 6:Part II 100-1500 A.D.
Feb 17 & 19
Tues:
Women Writers of the Early Middle Ages
Marie de France (12th C) 996-1019
Julian of Norwich (14th C) course pack
Christine de Pizan (15th C) course pack
Margery Kempe (15th C) course pack
Oral Presentation
Thurs:
Women Writers of the Middle Ages cont.
Week 7: Part III 1500-1650
Feb 24 & 26
Tues:
The Renaissance in Europe
Miguel De Cervantes (1547-1616), Don Quixote, 1523-1621
Oral Presentation
Wednesday:
Don Quixote continued
Oral Presentation
Week 8: Part IV 1650-1800
March 2 & 4
Tues:
The Enlightenment in Europe
Voltaire (1694-1778), Candide, 2034-2102
Oral Presentation
Hand out Mid-Term, due March 2
**Last day to drop with a “W” – Friday March 5**
Thurs.
Candide cont.
Begin Part V 1800-1900
Week 9: Part V: 1800-1900
March 9 & 12 Spring Break
Week 10: 1800- 1900
March 16 & 18
Tues:
Revolution and Romanticism in Europe
Rousseau (1712-1778), Confessions, Part I, 2148-2158
Symbolism
Charles Baudelaire, (1821-1867), The Flowers of Evil 2420-2431
Lautreamont (1846-1870), Maldorer, course pack
Oral Presentations
Thurs:
Realism and European Realities
6
Leo Tolstoy, (1828-1910), The Death of Ivan Ilyich, 2432-2475
Oral Presentations
Week 11: Part V: 1800-1900
March 23 Only
Tues:
Realism and European Realities
Begin Anton Chekov, (1860-1904), The Cherry Orchard 2537-2578
Thurs:
No Class
Week 12:
Realism and European Realities
March 30 & April 3
Tues.
Chekov cont. Read course pack, Foucault, History of Sexuality
Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), Hedda Gabler, 2476-2536
Oral Presentations
Thurs:
Ibsen cont, Gustave Flaubert, (1821-1880), A Simple Heart
Oral Presentations
Week 13: Part VI: The Twentieth Century -- Self and Other in Global Context
April 6 & 8
Tues:
The World Today, a Western View; The World Today, an Eastern View
Rabindrath Tagore (1861-1941), Punishment, 2618-2626
Oral Presentations
Week 14: Part VI The Twentieth Century
April 13 & 15
Tues:
Modernism, Luigi Pirandello, (1867-1936), Six Characters in Search of an
Author, 2627-2673
Oral Presentations
Thurs:
Franz Kafka, (1883-1924), The Metamorphosis, 2746-2783
Oral Presentations
Week 15: The Twentieth Century
April 20 & 22
Tues:
Lu Xun (1881-1936), Diary of a Madman, 2723-2734
Oral Presentations
Thurs.
Borges (course pack)
Week 16: The Twentieth Century
April 27 & 29
Tues:
Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), Patriotism, course packet
7
Thurs:
Oral Presentations
Individual Conferences
Week 17: The Twentieth Century
May 4 & 6
Tues:
Proposals due - share with class
Begin Chinua Achebe (1930-), Things Fall Apart, 2931-3030
Oral Presentations
Thurs:
Things Fall Apart cont.
Oral Presentations
Pass out final exam
Final Exams and Papers Due 5/10 in my office 1026 Urban Life by 5:00
pm, or email with confirmation by 12:00 pm
Format for Acceptable Papers
1.
Essays should be typed or computer printed. Use white 8 1/2 x 11-inch paper.
Don’t use onion skin or flimsy paper, off-colors, or off-sizes.
2.
Set margins at 1 inch on the top and bottom, 1 1/4 inches on the left and right (this
leaves enough room for my written comments).
3.
Double-space the text of your paper.
4.
Use a “running head” at the top right corner of each page except the first,
consisting of your last name and the page number:
(Jones 2, Jones 3, etc.)
5.
DO NOT use a title page. Instead, in the upper left-hand corner of your first page,
type a “name block” including the following information:
Your Name
The Course Title
Heather. Palmer
Date
8
6.
Title your paper. “Paper #1” is not enough; your title should give some clear,
specific indication of your topic and focus. Center the title on your first page, a
few spaces below your name block. DO NOT underline or bold your title or put it
in “quotation marks”.
7.
Secure your pages with a paper clip or a staple in the upper left-hand corner. DO
NOT simply fold the corner down or otherwise mutilate the paper. If possible, I
prefer that you print your paper on both sides.
8.
Any corrections should be made neatly and legibly in ink. Use white-out
sparingly.