EGL 102 – Introduction to Writing About Literature – Spring 2014
Amireh Kharchla (Alexis Chartschlaa)
amirehkharchla@gmail.edu
chartsa@farmingdale.edu - 718.314.9450
Office hours by appointment
CRN 22434 MW 9:25 to 10:40 (WHIT251)
CRN 22300 MW 3:05 to 4:20 (GL229)
“Either I’m Nobody, or I’m a Nation”:
Contemporary Caribbean Anglophone Literature from Hispaniola
Required Texts
Danticat, Edwidge. Krik? Krak!
Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
Learning Goals
As the second course of the required introductory English composition sequence, this
course builds on the reading, writing and critical thinking skills developed in EGL 101,
specifically the ability to write cogent, coherent literary analyses.
To this end, we will read, discuss and dissect two contemporary Caribbean Anglophone
works, both originating from colonialism’s “Ground Zero,” the island of Hispaniola, with
a particular focus on how these books’ literary techniques subvert and/or normalize issues
of race, gender, sexuality and diaspora. We will start with Krik? Krak! a collection of
short stories by Haitian author Edwidge Danticat spanning the rise of the Tonton
Macoute in Haiti to present-day challenges faced by Haitian-American New Yorkers. We
will then move to the other side of Hispaniola to read Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous
Life of Oscar Wao, a space-and-time traveling work of magical realism and historical
fiction.
We will ask a number of questions of these works, using our tools of literary analysis,
including but not limited to:
1.) How has the colonial situation unfolded differently for both Haiti and the DR?
What have been the long-term socioeconomic and political effects of these
differences? How has US imperialism manifested itself in these countries’
turmoil, and to what end (detriment, advantage, some of both?) What role have
dictatorships played in both countries, and what have been the similarities and
differences of these respective dictatorships?
2.) Why has hostility traditionally festered between these two nations sharing the
same island? What role has racism played in this hostility? Imperialism?
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3.) Where and how do we see the influence of Haitian Creole in Danticat’s
language and Dominican Spanish in Diaz’s work? How does the inclusion of
these non-English linguistic and literary influences alter our experience of the
books?
4.) How does history directly affect the main characters of these books? That is,
how do the broader socioeconomic/historical/political issues personally interfere
in the protagonists’ lives?
5.) What role do race and gender expectations play in the lives of the
protagonists? What differences do we notice in how Danticat portrays gender and
race versus Diaz’s discussion of the same? In what ways might these portrayals be
considered nationally representative, and in what ways might we need to avoid
allotting them such broadly representational status?
6.) In considering the concept of diaspora, how do we see intergenerational
conflict arising between the younger and older generations within each book?
What factors generate and exacerbate this conflict?
Graded Course Requirements
Class participation & attendance: 25%

Attendance is mandatory. If you are absent more than three times, one letter
grade will be deducted from your final grade for each additional absence.

Arriving late and leaving early will also lower your grade. Three late arrivals
and/or early departures will count as one absence.

I calculate your participation grade based upon your readiness to participate in
class and small-group discussion as well as attentive, alert notetaking when your
peers or I speak.
Quizzes: 25%
20-question, multiple-choice quizzes based upon that week’s reading. Administered
Wednesdays during the first fifteen minutes of class.
Final Paper: 40%
You will write a 5 to 7 - page response paper to Oscar Wao. For further instruction, see
the specific final paper prompt posted on the website. This paper must be double-spaced
and typed in Times New Roman, 12-point font. Your name, my name, the class name,
CRN # and date must appear at the top left-hand corner. I will not accept late response
papers.
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Final exam: 25%
A cumulative in-class exam comprised of multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, shortanswer and essay questions. You will not be allowed to refer to your books or notes for
any portion of the exam.
Course Schedule Spring 2014
Jan 27
Jan 29
Feb 3
Feb 5
Feb 10
Feb 12
Feb 17
Feb 19
Feb 24
Feb 26
March 3
March 5
March 10
March 12
March 17
March 19
March 31
April 2
April 7
April 9
April 14
April 16
April 21
April 23
April 28
April 30
May 5
May 7
Introduction to Class; overview of syllabus, texts and goals
Danticat, “Children of the Sea”; Quiz One
Danticat, “Nineteen Thirty-Seven”
Danticat, “A Wall of Fire Rising”; Quiz Two
Danticat, “Night Women”
Danticat, “Between the Pool and the Gardenias”; Quiz Three
Danticat, “The Missing Peace”
Danticat, “Seeing Things Simply”; Quiz Four
Danticat, “New York Day Women”
Danticat, “Caroline’s Wedding”; Quiz Five
Danticat, “Epilogue: Women Like Us”
Danticat Cumulative Discussion; Quiz Six
Danticat Cumulative Discussion
Intro to DR History in relation to Danticat’s Haiti; Quiz Seven
Intro to Junot Diaz
Diaz, Chapter One: Ghetto Nerd at the End of the World; Quiz Eight
Diaz, Chapter Two: Wildwood
Diaz, Chapter Three: the Three Heartbreaks of Belicia Cabral; Quiz Nine
Diaz, Chapter Four: Sentimental Education
Diaz, Chapter Five: Poor Abelard; Quiz Ten
Diaz, Chapter Six: Land of the Lost
Diaz, Chapter Seven: the Final Voyage; Quiz Eleven
Diaz, Chapter Eight: the End of the Story
Diaz, The Final Letter; Quiz Twelve
Diaz Cumulative Discussion
Prep for Final Paper
Final Paper Due
Final exam (administered in class)
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