Course Overview

Honors Introduction to World Literature provides students with an introduction to novels, poetry, and drama from outside of the Anglo-American literary tradition. Focusing on literature translated into English from other languages and literature in English from non-Western authors, this class allows students to consider America's place in the world and the complex legacy of colonization that shapes America's relations with other countries. Literature provides insights into how people in other cultures regard themselves and reminds us of the difficulties of translation as a bridge across varying and sometimes incommensurable cultural divides.

This section of Introduction to World Literature is reserved for students in the University Honors Program.

Objectives

This semester, I expect students to develop their capacities to . . .

• Understand and interpret texts by influential authors of various non-Anglo-American cultural origins.

• Address concepts in these texts in classroom discussion and smaller group discussions.

• Produce convincing arguments about the meanings of these texts in assignments.

• Recall key facts about the works in question.

Expectations

In order to accomplish these goals, students must

• Read the required books carefully and take notes during lectures and class discussions. (And, remember that there are rules against disseminating these notes beyond the classroom community, which you can find at "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/course-notes-and-materials".)

• Attend class. I expect students to show up on time and prepared to discuss the readings assigned for that day. Students have a responsibility to plan their schedules to avoid excessive conflicts with course requirements. Excessive absences will have a negative impact on the grade that you receive in this course. Excusable absences include "subpoenas, jury duty, military duty, religious observances, illness, bereavement for immediate family and NCAA varsity college athletics." Please contact the instructor about anticipated absences in order to minimize their influence on your coursework. For more information on excused absences, see "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/excused-absences".

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of assigned works in two exams, the character analysis paper and through participation in class discussions, assignments and activities. For additional information about policies governing final exams, see "http://www.d.umn.edu/vcaa/FinalExams.html".

• Respect fellow students and refrain from behavior that might impair their learning opportunities. Any behavior that substantially and repeatedly interrupts the instructor's ability to teach or the students' ability to learn will result in appropriate penalties. Disruptive behavior includes inappropriate use of communications technology in the classroom, such as ringing cell phones, text-messaging, watching videos, playing computer games, checking email, or surfing the Internet on one's computer instead of note-taking or other instructor-sanctioned activities. For further clarification of UMD policies in this regard, consult the Board of Regents Policy at "http://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/policies/Student_Conduct_Code.pdf".

• Treat instructors and fellow students with civility. UMD instructors and students have a responsibility to maintain a learning environment that is, as stated in the Teaching and Learning Policy, "respectful of the rights and freedoms of all members, and promotes a civil and open exchange of ideas." The full policy is available at "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/instructor-and-student-responsibilities".

Humanities Liberal Education Outcomes:

This class will support the Liberal Education Programs Student Learning Outcomes for Humanities in the following manner, whereby students will:

1. Apply humanistic methods of inquiry and interpretation to the products/processes of human thought and culture.
   --Class discussions, small-group activities, a paper and examinations will all require students to ask key questions guiding them toward persuasive interpretations of literary texts.

2. Analyze products/processes of human thought and culture.
   --The reading list for this class includes a rich variety of literary texts from diverse time periods and cultural perspectives. Assignments will require students to read them carefully and come to well-reasoned conclusions about their meaning.

3. Explain how the products/processes of human thought and culture relate to cultural/social/historical context(s).
   --The presentation on literature and culture will require students to adapt ideas from class discussions and activities into more complete arguments that relate these texts to the cultural and historical contexts of their authors and readers.

Outcomes for Key Topic in Global Perspectives:

And, in addition, this course fulfills requirements for this category, which states that students will:

1. Explain and interpret histories, conditions, developments, trends, and interconnections relevant to global issues.
   --Introductions to individual authors and poets and subsequent discussions of their works will involve situating them in their historical contexts and geographical locations. The presentation on literature and culture will allow students to delve more fully into one particular non-Anglo-American culture and connect to topics in the related literary work.

2. Compare and contrast their own cultures, histories and perspectives with those of other international cultures.
   --As we move in class discussions from Portugal to Eastern Europe to Pakistan to India and final, to Nigeria, we will continually compare and contrast these different regions.

3. Evaluate how their own culture and histories affect their perspective on international cultures and global issues.
   --There is no discussing any of this without directly acknowledging our own native cultural frameworks—or filters—through which we necessarily comprehend the cultures evident on this syllabus.

4. Evaluate how they impact and are impacted by global circumstances.
   --Global histories of industrialization and colonization will be continually evident in elements of these literary works. Discussions and assignments will compel all of us to challenge Eurocentric understandings of these histories by representing them through non-Euro-American eyes.

English Major Student Learning Outcomes

As a 1000-level English class, this class may also count toward an English Major. The English Major has the following Student Learning Outcomes in which students will:

1. Discuss works from major movements and/or periods in literary history (aligned with UMD Outcome 1).
   --This course will consider major trends in global literature, primarily from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. They will encompass various elements of modernist, postmodern and postcolonial literary movements.

2. Analyze the role of difference (which might include racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, religious, economic, and/or ideological differences) in producing, publishing and interpreting literature (aligned with UMD Outcome 7).
   --We will consider works by culturally diverse writers with particular attention to their efforts to dramatize conflicts resulting from cultural differences within the legacy of colonialism.

3. Identify major characteristics of the dominant literary genres (poetry, fiction, drama) and use those characteristics to analyze individual examples (aligned with UMD Outcome 1).
   --We will consider works of poetry, prose and drama and differentiate them clearly according to these generic distinctions.

4. Interpret literary works with close attention to the nuances of language, content and form (aligned with UMD Outcome 3).
   --The character analysis assignment, in particular, will require students to engage in careful reading of a specific work on the syllabus.

5. Apply concepts from literary theory and criticism in the analysis and interpretation of texts (aligned with UMD Outcome 2).
   --Classroom discussions of the assigned readings will revolve around current critical questions, and students will apply these questions to the character analysis and exams.

6. Describe the ways in which texts emerge from and respond to their historical and cultural contexts (aligned with UMD Outcome 2).
   --The historical account of the time period depends strongly on such contexts. We will consider literature as an artifact that reveals subtle cultural shifts occurring at the times of production and consumption.

7. Write focused, convincing analytical essays that incorporate relevant secondary sources (aligned with UMD Outcome 6).
   --This course will not address this outcome except in an extremely introductory manner.

8. Collaborate in the discussion and interpretation of literature by listening to others' perspectives, asking productive questions, and articulating original ideas (aligned with UMD Outcome 6).
   --Classroom discussions and presentations will facilitate an active exchange of ideas about the assigned works. A peer-editing exercise will likewise enable collaboration among students to produce better written work.

Grade Breakdown:

Your grade will depend primarily on your written work and the understanding of the material that you convey through that work. A command of standard written English and the ability to present an argument will also contribute to the determination of your grade.

Late assignments will receive a deduction of 1/3 of a letter grade for each business day that they are late. Students who miss exams may not make them up without a valid excuse for the absence.

Academic dishonesty tarnishes the reputation of the University of Minnesota Duluth and discredits the accomplishments of its students. Because the university is committed to providing students every possible opportunity to grow in mind and spirit, it must insist on an environment of trust, honesty, and fairness. Consequently, all members of the academic community must regard any act of academic dishonesty as a serious offense. In keeping with this ideal, this course will adhere to UMD's Student Academic Integrity Policy, which is available online at "http://http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/student-academic-integrity". This policy sanctions students engaging in academic dishonesty with penalties up to and including expulsion from the university for repeat offenders.

Grading. Students will receive a grade according to a traditional A-F grading scale. Some assignments will receive points, typically with 100 points being the maximum. Point grades will convert to letter grades as follows: 93-100 = A; 90-92 = A-; 87-89 = B+; 83-86 = B; 80-82 = B-; 77-79 = C+; 73-76 = C; 70-72 = C-; 67-69 = D+; 63-66 = D; 60-62 = D-; 59 and below = F. You may consult the UMD "Grading and Transcripts Policy" at "https://champ.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/grading-policies/grading-and-transcripts" for more information about grades.

Individuals who have any disability, either permanent or temporary, which might influence their capacity to perform in this class, should inform me at the start of the semester. The Office of Disability Resources writes, "It is the policy and practice of the University of Minnesota Duluth to create inclusive learning environments for all students, including students with disabilities. If there are aspects of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion or your ability to meet course requirements—such as time limited exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos—please notify the instructor as soon as possible." You can contact the Office of Disability Resources to discuss and arrange reasonable accommodations by calling 218-726-6130 or by visiting the Disability Resources website at "http://www.d.umn.edu/access/".

Required Texts

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Purple Hibiscus. Algonquin Books, 2012.

Adiga, Aravind. White Tiger. Free Press, 2008.

Hamid, Mohsin. The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Harcourt, 2008.

Saramago, José. Blindness, translated by Giovanni Pontiero. Harcourt, 1997.

Miłosz, Czesław, Ed. The Book of Luminous Things. Harcourt, 1998.

Soyinka, Wole. Death and the King's Horseman. W. W. Norton, 2002.