Welcome to Discussion — Literature. The aim of this course is, of course, to enhance students' familiarity with American literature. Students should be aware, however, that American literature encapsulates a larger area than the United States— see Sessions 11-12 below. To do so, this course is divided into two roughly equal parts, the first of which deals with very large categories. In the latter half of the course we will look at samples of literature from particular groups that once were largely excluded from the canon of English literature.
In perhaps more detail, students will (a) think creatively and analytically about cultural issues, (b) deepen their knowledge and understanding of other cultures (primarily the potpourri of American culture), and (c) promote communication fluency by interacting with classmates in group discussions.
The Basics
Sessions 1-2: Course intro, definitions, and literary devices
You might well think of something shown in the image to the right when we mention the word 'artefact'. Of course, you might well imagine something completely different, which is — given the immense number of artefacts from our collective human endeavors over the last few millenia — quite natural.
Let's embark on our semester together with ...
Ah, a bit heavy, I think, so ...
In plain words, let's consider artefacts with a worksheet.
The Big Categories
Session 4 — Novels
A warmup question for everyone: in your native country, what do tigers symbolize? What are some examples?
Of course, one example from American culture is immediately to the left.
An interesting website on ancient symbols.
A thought-provoking article by Ann Swidler (1986) titled "Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies." As you'll recall from class, you have some homework related to this article: questions on Swidler (1986).
Allow me to add ...
I grant that ...
As such things are prone to do, The da Vinci Code caused quite a number of reactions although it was
ostensibly a work of fiction (although Dan Brown slyly notes that much of what underpins the work
is extant. At any rate, the folks at the Discovery Channel provided an interesting documentary (some 45
minutes in length, but it is worth your time, I think).
Session 4: Short Stories
Why might I have paired ...?
The archiving function, however, is the one on which we will spend our week.
Session 5: Poetry
One of the more remarkable efforts at ...
Perspectives
Session 6: Edward Said and Othering
At this point you may be wondering why we're jumping from poetry to Professor Said. A most perceptive question, the answer to which is that we find herein a framework into which we will fit the remaining units in our class.
As you might imagine, ...
Session 7: Black Literature (Part 1)
As ...
Session 8: Black Literature (Part 2)
As ...
Session 9: American Indian Literature (Part 1)
As ...
Session 10: American Indian Literature (Part 2)
As ...
Session 11: Caribbean Literature (Part 1)
As ...
Session 12: Caribbean Literature (Part 2)
As ...
Session 13: Feminist Literature (Part 1)
As ...
Session 14: Feminist Literature (Part 2)
As ...
Session 15 — Final Presentations
Note, people, that you will not be just passively listening to your classmates as they present the results of their work this week. No, you will be asking questions ... which means it is required that you ask questions. Really. Now you might well ask what this means, which is a reasonable question. I will smile happily if you do two things: (a) ask questions after each and every presentation, and (b) submit a list of questions to me by email. Recall that you have a list of all of the presentation topics, so I expect good, insightful questions.