Summer 2015 - WL 204 D100
Human Rights Literature (3)
Class Number: 4851
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Fri, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Amyn Sajoo
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Prerequisites:
Three units in World literature or three units of B-Hum designated courses.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Examines a diversity of world literature concerning human rights. May focus on writing in the face of political oppression, censorship, political and economic displacement, terrorism and/or warfare. Breadth-Humanities.
COURSE DETAILS:
Narratives of the encounter of individuals and communities with political authority form the very foundations of human rights across cultures and historical periods. From the Cyrus Cylinder to Magna Carta, Toussaint Louverture, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, milestones in the unfolding idea of dignity stem from the particulars of experience. In turn, these milestones have sparked expectations and aspirations about the proper treatment of individuals and communities — and the accountability of those who wield power. As activists and scholars have observed time and again, claims of human rights are only as meaningful as their embedding in the local culture. This course will address such cultural expressions in contexts that range from Asia and Europe to the Middle East, while also touching upon wider global expressions in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas. Our exploration of literary texts as well as film will impart substance, then, to the normative basis of the discourse of human rights with which we begin this course.
COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
Students who successfully complete this course can expect to:
- Articulate connections between cultural and ethical commitments to human rights
- Grasp the historical settings which gave rise to our modern discourse of rights
- Write cogently on the nexus between literature (in the broadest sense) and rights
- Acquire skills in publicly speaking to the interface of culture and ethics
Grading
- First Essay / Report 15%
- Presentation on Text 20%
- Midterm Project 25%
- Final Essay Project 30%
- Participation 10%
NOTES:
Active participation in class is expected throughout, with attendance in all sessions. Weekly readings will be assigned for class presentation on the basis of tutorial groups formed at the outset. Late submissions and absences are subject to a penalty of a letter-grade per day.
Materials
MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:
Required texts:
Students are strongly advised to purchase these texts in advance from a reputable bookseller such as Chapters-Indigo or Amazon.ca; all texts are available in paperback.
The SFU Bookstore will probably not carry these books.
REQUIRED READING:
The Political Aesthetics of Global Protest: The Arab Spring and Beyond. Eds. Werbner, Webb & Spellman-Poots. Edinburgh, 2014.
ISBN: 0748693351
Lynn Hunt, Inventing Human Rights: A History. Norton, 2008.
ISBN: 0393331997
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things. HarperCollins, 1997.
ISBN: 0679309411
Khalid Hosseini, The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury, 2011.
ISBN: 140882485X
Saadi Youssef, Without an Alphabet, Without a Face (Selected Poems, tr. K. Mattawa). Graywolf Press, 2002.
ISBN: 155597371X
Michael Ondaatje, Anil’s Ghost. Bloomsbury, 2000
ISBN: 0747549583
George Orwell, Nineteen Eight Four. Harcourt, 1949.
ISBN: 0451524934
Supplementary readings will be posted on the Canvas website.
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS