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Home My WebLink AboutLIT-204Bergen Community College Division of English Department of Composition and Literature Professor: E-mail: Phone: Office: Office Hours: LIT 204-001: World Literature 1650 to Present Fall 2009 Wednesday 6:10 – 9:00pm, C321 Course Description This course is a study of world authors from the seventeenth century to the present. We will examine images of both western and nonwestern cultures from various perspectives; and you will then respond critically and analytically in class discussions as well as in your written work. We will read representative texts from cultures ranging from Eastern Europe to South America to the Middle East and Africa so that we can access the real lived experiences of persons whose experiences lie beyond the margins of European culture; and I will ask that you employ new critical and cultural lenses so that we may appropriately analyze new literary archetypes that depart from traditional western ideas. Student Learning Objectives: As a result of meeting the requirements of this course, you will be able to: 1. Read and identify literary works situated between 1650 and the present. 2. Read and identify literatures of various genres: lyric, narrative poetry, verse and prose drama, short stories, novels and novellas. 3. Accumulate background critical/historical information regarding literatures from a multiplicity of cultures. 4. Use a variety of methods/apply various literary theories to understand, analyze, and evaluate the literature assigned in the course. 5. Incorporate properly formatted research in support of an argument, and demonstrate competency in evaluating information from a critical source. Course Requirements: 1. A midterm essay examination—topics will be announced. 2. A short oral presentation on the subject of your research paper. 3. A research paper of 7-10 pages, complete with internal documentation and a Works Cited page presented in correct MLA form, on a topic selected by you in consultation with me. 4. Periodic critical responses—2-3 page text analyses. 5. Quizzes, as needed. 6. Active participation in all course activities. Sample Required Texts: Akhmatova, Anna. Selected Poems. New York: Penguin, 2006. isbn:978-0140424645 Camus, Albert. The Stranger New York: Vintage, 1989. isbn: 978-0679720201 Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes from the Underground. New York: Dover thrift, 1992. 978- 0486270531 El Sadaawi, Nawal. Woman at Point Zero. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Zed Books, 1983. Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Collected Stories. New York: Harper, 1999. 978-0060932688 Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. New York: Dover Thrift, 1996. isbn: 978- 0486290300 Moliere Tartuffe. New York: Dover Thrift, 2000. isbn: 978-0486411170 Salih, Tayeb. Season of Migration to the North. New York: NYRB Classics, 2009. isbn: 978- 1590173022 Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York: Pantheon, 2004. isbn: 978-0375714573 Voltaire. Candide. New York: Dover Thrift, 1991. isbn: 978-0486266893 Evaluation You will write two brief critical responses (3-4 pages) for two of the major texts under study; and your responses will be due upon completion of the unit—the class immediately following. There will also be a midterm essay exam, intermittent quizzes, and a term paper. Response papers: 30% Participation and Quizzes: 20% Midterm Exam: 25% Term Paper: 25% Written assignments must be formatted according to MLA standards. You will find citation guides on our library’s website. Please note that you will also be expected to produce a documented term paper with secondary sources; and you may find appropriate—relevant— resources in our library. You are encouraged to schedule an appointment with one of our reference librarians if you did not attend an instructional seminar in your writing class. BCC’s Writing Center is located in L125, and you are encouraged to work with our faculty and professional writing tutors. Please note that the center is indeed a tutoring center—you are not to drop off your paper for proofreading as this is not a function of the center. Attendance Policy Your presence is vital to our classroom community, so regular attendance is required. You will be permitted two absences after which your grade will be negatively affected. You are expected to come to class every morning prepared to discuss assigned texts and to produce written responses both in class and at home. A note on plagiarism: please give credit where credit is due! Honesty is expected of you. It is expected that the work you hand in will always be your own, and that you will never copy sentences, phrases, paragraphs, or whole essays from any other person's work, for that is plagiarism. If you are ever unclear about how to cite another person or author's ideas, come see me or consult the staff in the writing center. A note on deadlines: no late papers will be accepted, and you are not permitted to submit papers electronically—via email. Sample Class Schedule/Reading List (subject to change depending upon class progress): Week 1: 9/9 Introductions… Week 2: 9/16 Moliere Tartuffe Week 3: 9/23 Swift ―A Modest Proposal‖ (handout) Voltaire Candide Week 4: 9/30 Dostoevsky Notes from the Underground Week 5: 10/7 Kafka The Metamorphosis & ―In the Penal Colony‖ Week 6: 10/14 Anna Akhmatova ―Requiem‖ Junot Diaz will be addressing the campus and presenting his work on Monday 10/19. Your attendance is optional. Selections of his work will be made available prior to his visit. Week 7: 10/21 (Midterm Exam) Camus The Sranger Week 8: 10/28 The Stranger Week 9: 11/4 Salih Season of Migration to the North Week 10: 11/11 Season of Migration to the North Week 11: 11/18 Gabriel Garcia Marquez Collected Stories (selections tba) Isabel Allende ―An Act of Vengeance‖ (handout) Week 12: 11/25 Thanksgiving/No Class Week 13: 12/2 Nawal El Saadawi Woman at Point Zero Term paper proposals and preliminary works cited page due. Week 14: 12/9 Nawal El Saadawi Woman at Point Zero Term papers due. Week 15: 12/16 Satrapi Persepolis