This course satisfies the Liberal Education Requirement for Humanities and Global Perspectives.

*I am avoiding my office during Covid-19.

Course Overview

In this course, students will study literature written in English between 1945 and the present day and from a variety of cultural perspectives through consideration of novels, drama and poetry. Literature facilitates our experience of other cultures. It accomplishes its ends by making the familiar strange and the strange familiar. This semester, we will explore these possibilities fully in order to expand our facilities for reading difficult texts and interpreting them persuasively.

Grade Breakdown

Required Texts

Bishop, Elizabeth. Poems. Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2011.

Jin, Ha, In the Pond. Knopf, Doubleday, 2000.

McCarthy, Tom. Remainder. Knopf, Doubleday, 2007.

Morrison, Toni. Sula. Knopf, Doubleday, 2004.

Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. Random House, 2008.

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

Course Objectives

Over the semester, I expect students to achieve the following goals:

• Understand and interpret texts by influential authors from a variety of literary genres and cultural origins.

• Discuss these texts in the context of a classroom discussion or smaller group discussions in Zoom breakout rooms.

• Write convincing arguments about the meanings of these texts in examinations, the Character Analysis Paper, and Canvas discussion forums.

Additional Course Information

Writing Ability. 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 Submission of an assignment will result in a 10% deduction for each business day past the due date. The grade will not be affected when an assignment is late for reasons that would result in an excused 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 "https://evcaa.d.umn.edu/student-academic-integrity" This policy sanctions students engaging in academic dishonesty with penalties up to and including expulsion from the university for repeat offenders.

Disability Accommodations. 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 that "[i]t 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 videosÑplease 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/" .

Notetaking. Remember that there are rules against disseminating these notes beyond the classroom community, which you can find at "https://evcaa.d.umn.edu/course-notes-materials" .

Attendance. Synchronous online class meeting-attendance is obligatory. Check in on time and be prepared to discuss the readings assigned for a given 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 "https://evcaa.d.umn.edu/excused-absences" .

Student Conduct. 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, reading email, or browsing the Internet 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 "https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/policies/Student_Conduct_Code.pdf".

Another important conduct code addresses sexual harassment, which means "means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and/or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature," and that policy is available at "https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/2020-08/policy_sexual_harassment_sexual_assault_stalking_and_relationship_violence.pdf" .

Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Affirmative Action. As stated in academic policies: "The University provides equal access to and opportunity in its programs and facilities, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The UMD Department of Human Resources & Equal Opportunity is available to all UMD employees, students, and participants in University-related activities to discuss issues or concerns regarding University policies or practices involving potential bias, discrimination, harassment or retaliation that an individual may have experienced or observed." For more details, see "https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/2019-09/policy_equity_diversity_equal_opportunity_and_affirmative_action.pdf".

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 "https://evcaa.d.umn.edu/instructor-and-student-responsibilities/" .

Mental Health. From academic affairs: "Feelings such as anxiety, anger, depression, low self-esteem, or tension are a normal part of being human and can affect anyone. Sometimes these feelings are temporary and can be eased by rest, relaxation, exercise, good nutrition and the support of trusted friends. At other times, stressors, relationships or past family experiences cannot be managed so easily and become overwhelming. If this happens, and you find it hard to function, you may want to seek professional help. Counseling Services are available at UMD Health Services to assist you.

"If you are in need of mental health support when Health Services is closed, or in case of an emergency, please contact The Birch Tree Center's Crisis line at 218-623-1800 or go to the emergency room/urgent care at either St. Luke's Hospital or St. Mary's Hospital. If an ambulance is needed, call 911.

"If the emergency is non-life-threatening and you do not have a means of transportation, call Campus Police at 218-726-7000). If you have needs that Counseling Services does not treat, they have a case manager who helps connect students to referrals as well as navigating issues with insurance. You can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus atÊUMD Health Services." "https://www.d.umn.edu/health-services/counseling-services/"

Student Learning Outcomes for English 2571

As noted above, this course fulfills Liberal Education Program requirements for the Humanities Knowledge Domain and for Key Topic in Global Perspectives. Here is some additional information explaining how.

Humanities Liberal Education Outcomes:

Students will:

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

• 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.

• Explain how the products/processes of human thought and culture relate to cultural/social/historical context(s).
  --The Character Analysis Paper will require students to engage in-depth with an assigned text's engagement with its cultural and historical contexts.

Outcomes for Key Topic in Global Perspectives:

Students will:

• 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.

• Compare and contrast their own cultures, histories and perspectives with those of other international cultures.
  --As we move in class discussions from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China to Nigeria and on to India, we will continually compare and contrast these different regions. Our two American authors will provide an important literary point of comparison.

• 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 frameworksÑor filtersÑthrough which we necessarily comprehend the cultures evident on this syllabus.

• 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

This 2000-level English class may also count toward your work on an English Major. The English Major has the following Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Discuss works from major movements and/or periods in literary history (aligned with UMD Outcome 1).
   --This course will consider major trends in U. S. and global literature from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. These works encompass various elements of 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 formal characteristics.

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 via Zoom 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.