Introduction to World Literature - 3rd year
Introduction to major works of imaginative literature by Western and Asian authors writings. These works are drawn from various national traditions, genres, and historical periods ranging from the pre-romantic to the post-modern.
Objectives:
By the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Identify and analyze a variety of major works of world literature;
2. Discuss the characteristics of the major periods of world literature as well as the major literacy genres that have emerged;
3. Compare and contrast writing styles and generic forms from different periods and cultures;
4. Identify major themes of representative poetic, fictional and dramatic works;
5. Trace the influence of one literature upon another.
Topics:
Course topics will include the following:
1. General Introduction to World Literature
2. The major literary traditions
3. Goethe’s concept of world literature
4. Folk literature
5. Neo-classical and Romantic periods
6. Brothers Grimm
7. La Fontaine
8. Hans Christian Anderson
9. P’u sung-ling
10. Poetry by Goethe, Baudelaire, Theophile and Judith Gautier
11. Realist period
12. Tolstoy
13. Maupassant
14. Modern period
15. The notion of the modern, modernism and modernity
16. Appollinaire
17. Jorge Luis Borges
18. Postmodernism
19. Duras
20. Margaret Atwood
21. Oe Kenzaburo
22. Francis Ponge
23. Yuan Ch’lung-ch’iung
24. Post-colonialism
25. Rhys
Method of Instruction:
1. Lecture
2. Discussion
3. Analysis of literary texts
Types of Assignments:
1. Double-entry journals
2. Classification of literary works by period and genre
3. Comparison and contrast of periods, genres, and writing styles
4. Literary analysis using primary and secondary sources
5. Discussion of themes and cultural issues contained in the readings
6. Essays
Sample Text:
1. Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm
2. Death of Ivan Ilyich (Leo Tolstoy)
3. Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys)
