Course Description:

This course explores representative literature from Europe, Africa, and Asia from the eighteenth century to the present. In reading this literature, we will focus thematically on how individuals relate to and participate in the societies in which they live. To what extent can one exist as an individual apart from society? To what extent are we “created” by the societies in which we live? Questions we will ask recurrently throughout this course are: how is selfhood constructed in the text? Do the individuals within the text(s) exist in harmonious or antagonistic relation to the societies in which they live? What is the impact of their geographical location on their individual sense of self? Can the self be “dislocated”? Is this an effect of geography or psychology? What is the relationship between nations and selves?

Learning Objectives:

My goals for this course are ambitious. I want you to have a strong sense of the positive contributions reading, thinking, talking and writing about literature can make toward your intellectual and emotional growth. I want you to have a firm grasp of the ideas within the literature we read and an appreciation for at least a few specific texts that you might claim as “your own,” of special interest to you. In addition, I want you to think about and improve the way you approach, process, and articulate information, whether that’s in a written or spoken style. I want you to come away from this class and notice that the world looks different, both because what you know about it changes your understanding of it and because the way you think about it is different.

Required Texts:

Please purchase these editions. Our class discussions depend on it.

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein. Ed. M. Hindle. (Penguin, 1992)
Henrik Ibsen, A Doll’s House. Adapted F. McGuinness. (Dramatist’s Play Service, 1998)
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground. Trans. M. Ginsburg (Bantam, 1974)
Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (Harvest/HBJ, 1981)
Albert Camus, The Stranger. Trans. M. Ward (Vintage, 1989)
Buchi Emecheta, The Joys of Motherhood (George Brazillier, 1979)
Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood. Trans. J. Rubin (Vintage, 2000)

Course Requirements:

• Regular attendance and thoughtful, active participation in class discussions. Your grade in the course will drop by 1/3 of a grade (e.g., B- to C+) with four absences. After five absences you will fail the course. While I do not assign a grade for class participation, demonstration of your commitment to the goals of the course can and will affect your grade if you are “in-between” grades when it comes time to tally your final grade. If you have made a positive contribution to class discussion and/or made an effort with the course assignments, you will receive the higher grade. If you have been disruptive or made no visible effort, you will receive the lower grade.

• One five-minute class presentation on a brief passage from a novel or poem. Each student will sign up to present a reading and analysis of a brief passage he or she has chosen. Students will be responsible for sharing their insights into the literature with the class, and asking questions that will stimulate further class discussion.

• Eight two-page papers. I will collect all papers and record whether or not the assignment has been completed, but will grade them at random (n.b., even if you have not turned in a paper, it could be your turn to be graded. In such an instance, the grade assigned for that paper is an “F”). Each student will be graded approximately four times throughout the semester. At the end of the semester I will collect all of your completed essays and assign a portfolio grade based on your effort and improvement as the semester progressed. SAVE YOUR WORK. My policy on papers is very simple, and, quite strict: I accept no late papers. If you are absent on a day an in-class paper is written, you cannot make up that paper. I maintain this policy in order to avoid evaluating individual excuses and emergencies, and in order to make the playing field among students as level as possible. Please do not ask me to compromise this policy as I hold it not out of a lack of compassion for what I know are often valid reasons for not completing work, but out of a desire to be as fair as possible to as many students as I can. In acknowledgment of the fact that emergencies do come up, I will drop the lowest grade of your graded papers. I will update the course web page with paper topics as they arise, so if you miss a class, be sure to check there for paper assignments.

• One two-hour final examination based on all of the works read during the semester.

Grades:

10% of your grade will be based on your in-class presentation.
60% of your grade will be based on your four graded papers
10% of your grade will be based on your total paper portfolio
20% of your grade will be based on your final exam

Schedule of Classes:

September 3 Class introduction

September 5 Frankenstein, 13-35

September 10 Frankenstein, 36-106

September 12 Frankenstein, 107-144

September 17 no classes

September 19 Frankenstein, 145-215, PAPER DUE

September 24 A Doll’s House, Act 1

September 26 A Doll’s House, Acts 2-3

October 1 Notes from Underground, 1-21, PAPER DUE

October 3 Notes from Underground, 21-47

October 8 Notes from Underground, 49-96

October 10 Notes from Underground, 96-130, PAPER DUE

October 15 Mrs. Dalloway, 1-40

October 17 Mrs. Dalloway, 40-80

October 22 Mrs. Dalloway, 80-150, PAPER DUE

October 24 Mrs. Dalloway, 150-194

October 29 The Stranger, 3-39

October 31 The Stranger, 40-97

November 5 The Stranger, 98-123, PAPER DUE

November 7 The Joys of Motherhood, 7-39

November 12 The Joys of Motherhood, 39-110

November 14 The Joys of Motherhood, 110-160

November 19 The Joys of Motherhood, 160-224, PAPER DUE

November 21 Nowegian Wood, 3-35

November 26 Norwegian Wood, 35-89

November 28 Thanksgiving

December 3 Nowegian Wood, 89-143, PAPER DUE

December 5 Nowegian Wood, 143-199

December 10 Norwegian Wood, 200-251

December 12 Norwegian Wood, 251-293, PAPER DUE; FINAL PORTFOLIOS DUE

December 17 or 19 Final Exam

In-Class Presentations

The in-class presentation is a five-minute, directed discussion by you about a specific passage in a text. Your discussion consists of a few prepared observations and questions about the passage: the language in it, the themes in it, the characters’ actions in it. The presentation should help the class engage in a lively discussion about the texts and ideas we are studying. In addition to providing a platform for class discussion, your presentation provides a separate outlet from your formal papers in which to develop your close-reading skills and construct literary arguments. Your responses to the texts are valid, but you need to make sure 1) that your opinions are not just observations, but arguments based on ideas; and 2) that your response is backed up with persuasive textual evidence.

Consider this like solving a problem: describe the passage, point to instances where the language is particularly revealing or interesting, and suggest theories for what it means. In your effort to engage the class in a discussion, you must prepare one or two questions that the text(s) raise for you. Broad-based questions about specific ambiguities in the text(s) are more likely to facilitate discussion than, say, questions with definite answers. You will want to keep this in mind.

Essay Assignments

Paper 1, Frankenstein

Explain who in Frankenstein experiences isolation and who enjoys community. Find at least three pieces of textual evidence that you think explain why the characters are isolated or part of a sympathetic community. Analyze that evidence and explain what you think it tells us about Frankenstein’s message as a whole.

Paper 2, A Doll's House

Devise a thesis to explain the role of deception in A Doll's House. Support your thesis with at least three examples from the play that you analyze and explain to your reader. You may want to consider the following questions in your analysis: What constitutes the truth in the play? Are all characters deceiving or self-deceived? How is a deception created? Can there be such a thing as a social deception; how do individuals participate?

Paper 3, Notes from Underground

Show how the story's climax and denoument demonstrate at least one of the ideas outlined in part one of Notes.

Paper 4, Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway shows how humans are very much alone in theprivate world of their minds, yet are attempting continuously to overcome this isolation and create connections. Examining this section of the novel (pp. 80-150) choose one character and argue whether he/she is more isolated or connected. Give at least three examples from the text.

Paper 5, The Stranger

Providing close textual analysis, examine the ways in which Merseault is a stranger to society, himself, and/or the natural environment. Your paper must include examples from the final 25 pages of the book, as well as prior appropriate passages.

Paper 6 – The Joys of Motherhood

Make an argument that explains why Nnu Ego is silent at the end of The Joys of Motherhood. In coming up with your argument, you may want to consider in what ways she chooses to participate in the ideals of her culture, the fact that those ideals change during her lifetime, and what possibilities of participation and/or refusal of her society’s ideals are available to her. Remember that the more rigorously and closely you read and explain the language of the novel, the more effective your argument will be.

Paper 7, Norwegian Wood

Find a passage or passages in pages 89-143 that touch on one of the following themes: loss, cultural alienation, the detached or isolated self, nation, or corporate culture. Through a careful analysis of the language, explain what this passage tells us about the theme.

Any successful paper will include the following:

¶ A thesis paragraph that defines the terms of your argument, or sets up the problems/questions you want to explore.

¶ A carefully and thoroughly developed argument that is sustained throughout the essay. The central idea or idea-set presented in the essay is thoroughly explained, and the connections and relationships between ideas and textual analysis are made clear. Each paragraph of the essay explores one idea and in doing so moves the argument forward.

¶ The argument MUST be supported by careful textual analysis. Quoted passages from texts are explained thoroughly and connected to the larger argument. In working closely with the text, attention is paid to the CENTRAL role language plays in making meaning. The relationship between textual examples and the argument is made clear. Observations and evidence are balanced with ideas.

¶ The author of the essay understands that it is her or his job to educate the reader about his or her ideas. No information is taken for granted.

¶ Careful attention is paid to grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Papers are proofread not just for grammatical problems, but also for sentence style and clarity.

¶ Primary and secondary sources are properly cited using APA style.

NEED HELP? TRY A TUTORIAL OR WORKSHOP AT THE WRITING CENTER

Using Quotations in your Papers

Why use quotations?

Quotations are the evidence you use to make your point. Without evidence, an argument is a windy, flimsy statement of one person’s opinion. With evidence, an argument is grounded in facts and given shape. Evidence is the critical link that helps you prove your points.

When do I use quotations?

Use quotations when you want to make a point about the text/individual you are writing about, and what that text or person says is helpful in showing your reader what you mean.

How do I use quotations?

A quotation must always form part of your own sentence. It cannot stand alone. You therefore must (a) introduce the quotation, telling the reader what it is he/she is about to read, (b) include only that part of the quote that is vital to your argument, and (c) follow the quoted material with a sentence or two explaining what is significant about the language you have chosen in terms of your main point, or argument.

For example, if I want to argue that Ghandi thought modern (Western) civilization was bad specifically because of its promotion of material greed, I might do the following:

Ghandi sees modern civilization as a threat to the Indian people because it promotes an endless cycle of selfish want. He says, “The railways, machineries and the corresponding increase of indulgent habits are the true badges of slavery of the Indian people” (p. 118). He sees such modern technologies as the railway and machines as enslaving because they require money and labor to build, solely so that such things might exist. In Ghandi’s mind, such things are not only unnecessary, they are unhelpful to a people. Happiness, he asserts, is “largely a mental condition” (p. 123). As such, it is unnecessary to acquire material goods.

(Note that in the sentences with quoted material I use an introductory phrase like “He says,” or “he asserts” to introduce the quote. The quote is therefore part of my own sentence. Note also that after the quotation I place the citation outside of the quotation marks and place the period following the citation.)

What if there’s more than one text?

If you quote from more than one text, be sure to include the title and date published of each text so that it is clear to your reader which text is being cited.

For example: Though Darwin argued that “as more individuals are produced than can possibly survive, there must be a struggle for existence” (Darwin, 1975, p. 40), his ideas have been adapted to the marketplace, as Galbraith has noted, and in the United States, social Darwinism has been one reason conservatives warn against “anything which, in the name of welfare or compassion, might interfere with the free play of market forces” (Galbraith, 1998, p.53).

References

Darwin, C. (1975). The Origin of the Species. New York: W. W. Norton.
Galbraith, J. K. (1998). The Affluent Society. New York: Houghton Mifflin.