Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2019 - WL 306 D100

Transnational Literary Rebellions (4)

William Faulkner and Postcolonial Literatures

Class Number: 7809

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 3 – Apr 8, 2019: Tue, Thu, 4:30–6:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Investigates cross-cultural literary movements that challenge the status quo. Focal points might include romanticism, modernism, existentialism, or other cultural and political tendencies, with attention to how such styles or movements gain impetus in new national/regional settings. This course may be repeated for credit when different topics are offered. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

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Transnational Literary Rebellions: William Faulkner and Postcolonial Literatures

No literary rebellion within the past century has had greater impact on the world than the rise of postcolonial literary production. Strangely enough, the most influential precursor of this vast literary movement was not a cosmopolitan, politically committed activist-author but arguably the stay-at-home, inward-looking U.S. southerner: William Faulkner. This course will plunge into one of Faulkner’s richest and influential novels, Absalom, Absalom! and then survey its resonances, especially in the work of Caribbean authors but also in modern classics of Latin America and the Arab world. In its dual focus on close reading and socio-historical conditions, the course seeks to sketch the outlines of a postcolonial literature that remains relevant to the intercultural challenges facing the world today.   

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:


By the end of this course, students should be able to

  • Achieve advanced undergraduate competency in critical analysis of literary texts
  • Discuss orally and in writing the broad outlines of current debates about culture and postcolonialism  
  • Demonstrate proficiency in writing an advanced undergraduate essay
  • Exercise skills in library research and term-paper techniques
  • Acquire a nuanced grasp of intercultural attitudes as expressed in literature and criticism

Grading

  • Essay 1 (5 pages) 15%
  • Midterm Exam 15%
  • Oral Report on Readings 10%
  • Research Paper Proposal / Annotated Bibliography 15%
  • Oral Report on Essay 10%
  • Final Essay (10 pages) 25%
  • Participation / Group work 10%

NOTES:


COURSE POLICY: The SFU Code of Academic Integrity and Good Conduct (policy S 10.01) will be enforced. More than one unexcused absence from class will adversely affect the final grade. Three or more unexcused absences will yield an F for the course.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

A few critical and theoretical essays by Edouard Glissant, Hosam Aboul-Ela and others provided by the instructor

Césaire, Aimé. Discourse on Colonialism. NY: Monthly Review Press.
ISBN: 978-1583670255

Danticat, Edwidge. The Farming of Bones. NY: Soho Press.
ISBN: 978-1616953492

Fuentes, Carlos. The Death of Artemio Cruz. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
ISBN: 978-0374531805

Faulkner, William. Absalom, Absalom! NY: Vintage.
ISBN: 978-0679732181

Jabra, Jabra Ibrahim. Hunters in a Narrow Street. Boulder, CO: Three Continents Press.
ISBN: 978-0894105852

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/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