|
-
ENG 2220 World Literature
Instructor: Gábor Molnár
Email: gamolnar@gmail.com
Course Description
"World literature is work that gains in translation" (David Damrosch)
This course offers a unique journey through cultures and historical periods. The focus of the course will be on narrative in ancient and medieval literatures—tales of heroism, adventure, friendship and love, lust and betrayal. Through these works, you will encounter long lost worlds, mythological monsters, incredible feasts and heart-wrenching tragedy as well as enduring demonstrations of cultural and transcultural values.
In the first half of the semester, we will read epic poetry (often in prose translation) from the earliest periods of recorded human history to Islamic high culture in Iran.
In the second half, the course will focus on complex narratives from the time of the Roman Empire through the Middle East and medieval Japan to Renaissance Europe. Most of these works are story cycles, with the notable exception of The Tale of Genji, which alone represents the novel in this selection.
A few shorter works will be read in their entirety while others will be represented by excerpts. Story cycles, composed of smaller units, lend themselves to such sampling relatively easily—the intention behind this course, however, is to draw attention to the works that you can hopefully study in their entirety later on.
|
Date
|
Topic
|
Reading due
|
|
sep 6
|
Introduction, basic concepts of world literature
|
Â
|
|
8
|
the heroic epic
|
Â
|
|
13
|
the origin of human civilization
|
Gilgamesh (Akkadian)
|
|
15
|
heroes and mythology
|
Â
|
|
20
|
ancient Greece
|
The Odyssey (ancient Greek)
|
|
22
|
the formation of literature: orality and literacy
|
Â
|
|
27
|
ancient India
|
The Ramayana (Sanskrit)
|
|
29
|
mythology, gender and narrative
|
Â
|
|
oct 4
|
Germanic Europe
|
Beowulf (Old English)
|
|
6
|
religious and social values in narrative
|
Â
|
|
11
|
the Persian empire and Islam
|
Sohráb and Rostám (Persian)
|
|
13
|
religious and social values in narrative
|
final projects: announcement of topics
|
|
18
|
revision
|
The Epic of Son-Jara (Mali)
|
|
20
|
midterm
|
midterm
|
|
25
|
fall break
|
fall break
|
|
27
|
the Roman empire
|
Metamorphoses (Latin)
|
|
nov 1
|
the narrative cycle: mythology and literature
|
Â
|
|
3
|
Medieval India and the Arabic world
|
Pançatantra (Sanskrit)
|
|
8
|
the story cycle – framing devices
|
The Thousand and One Nights (Arabic)
|
|
10
|
medieval Japan
|
final projects: submission of drafts / scripts (min. 2 pages)
|
|
15
|
the novel
|
The Tale of Genji (Japanese)
|
|
17
|
late medieval Europe
|
Â
|
|
22
|
the novellino
|
The Decameron (Italian)
|
|
24
|
Thanksgiving break
|
Thanksgiving break
|
|
29
|
the European Renaissance
|
Â
|
|
dec 1
|
The Heptameron (French)
|
|
6
|
film screening
|
final projects
|
|
8
|
revision
|
final projects: deadline
|
|
dec xxx
|
final exam
|
final exam
|
Typical classroom activities:
Typically, two sessions will be assigned for each reading.
Most of the time, the first session will be devoted to the basics: 1, the cultural and historical background of the work (understanding the period of its composition and/or publication, its role within the culture it originates from, its influence on later works and cultural productions) 2, the basics of plot, composition, basic poetic devices (meter, rhetorical figures) etc. Prefatory materials in the reader, mini-lectures given by the instructor, online sources and (optionally) oral presentations given by students will be used to cover these points.
The second session will be used to read the works more closely. Students will be encouraged to mark passages they think merit a closer reading to clear up possible misunderstandings or get a more detailed view of the finer points of cultural values or literary devices. These sessions will be structure less rigorously, and will allow for more liberal discussion as well as more creative methods of pedagogy.
Requirements:
-
1, Attendance and participation. The school policy allowing three unexcused absences applies to this course as well. Attendance will always be taken following the add/drop date. Each unexcused absence after the third will result in a full letter grade (10%) deduction.
Participation in classroom discussion is also a requirement. This means you will always have to complete the assigned reading. Coming to class unprepared will be regarded the same way as not coming to class at all (it means you can only get away with it three times).
Attendance and participation will make up about 40% of your final grade.
(To avoid penalizing the more quiet types and favoring native speakers, you will get 40 percentage points here unless I have to warn you about specific problems mentioned above.)
-
2, Midterm and final exam. The purpose of these is to assess your understanding of the chronology of works studied, their cultural-historical backgound as well as concepts of literary analysis. You will identify characters, match works to authors, define concepts etc.
The midterm and final will make up 20+20=40% of your final grade.
-
3, Final project:
You may choose between the following options:
A, Scholarly project: a book report based on any of the works uploaded by the instructor on the course website or a comparative analysis of a work studied in class and a modern rendering (film, artwork or literary work)
B, Artistic project: e.g. creating illustrations, participating in the staging of a work, re-writing one of the stories in a different setting – must include historical research (culturally and historically feasible portrayal of clothes, setting etc.) Collaborative efforts will result in the same percentage grade for all participants, regardless or role (stage hand to lead actress).
The final project will make up 20% of you final grade.
Percentage to letter grade conversion:
-
95%- A+
-
91%- A
-
81%- B
-
71%- C
-
61%- D
(There will be no curving. If everyone performs perfectly, everyone will get an A+.)
To explain:
-
Impeccable attendance and a perfect score on both tests will result in a C (80%) unless you complete your final project.
or:
-
If you miss five classes unexcused, you can only get a C even if you ace both tests and you turn in a revolutionary reinterpretation of the Homeric question.
-
|
|
|
