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)