Spring 2020 - HS 309 D100
Narrating Trauma: Civil War Literature in the Balkans and the Mediterranean (4)
Class Number: 8162
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2020: Mon, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Dionysia Eirini Kotsovili
dkotsovi@sfu.ca
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Examines the legacy of the Greek civil war through literature and compares the country's turbulent political past and rich cultural production with other cases in Southern Europe and the Balkans. Students with credit for HUM 309 or WL 309 or HS 303 under the title "Reflection on the Greek Civil War" may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Humanities.
COURSE DETAILS:
This course examines Greek civil war literature, and compares it to literary works based on 20th c. European civil wars. It succinctly surveys the Spanish, Greek and Yugoslav civil wars by initially making references to the historical background in order to study literary works emerging from different national contexts with a focus on an individual’s reflections on the conflicts and their impact. It subsequently addresses themes that emerge from this examination, e.g. gender, identity, culture, nation, sameness/difference, memory, fact and fiction. In the process, references and comparisons are made to artistic and filmic representations of civil war in the given cultural contexts.
Grading
- Class Participation 10%
- Presentation 15%
- Quiz 25%
- In-Class Essay 20%
- Final Paper 30%
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Hemingway, E. 1995. For Whom the Bell Tolls. New York: Scribner.
Kazantzakis, N. 1985. The Fratricides. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Orwell, G. 2000. Homage to Catalonia. New York: Penguin Books.
Sacco, J. 2000. Safe area Goražde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995. Fantagraphics Books.
Todorovic, D. 2006. The Book of Revenge: A Blues for Yugoslavia. Random House.
Valtinos, T. 1973. The Descent of the Nine. (available online/ JSTOR)
RECOMMENDED READING:
Benson, F. R. 1967. Writers in Arms: The Literary Impact of the Spanish Civil War. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Close, D. H. (ed.). 1993. The Greek Civil War, 1943-1950: Studies of Polarisation. New York: Routledge.
Gareth, T. 1990. The Novel of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1975). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Glenny M. 1996. The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War (3rd ed., revised). London: Penguin Books.
Halpern, J. M. and Kideckel, D. A. (eds). 2000. Neighbors at War: Anthropological Perspectives on Yugoslav Ethnicity, Culture and History. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press.
McDonald, S., Holden, P., and Ardener, S. (eds.). 1987. Images of Women in Peace and War. Oxford: Macmillan.
Preston, P. 2009. We Saw Spain Die: Foreign Correspondents in the Spanish Civil War (revised and expanded edition). London: Constable and Robinson.
Woodhouse, C. M. 1985. Apple of Discord: A Survey of Recent Greek Politics in their International Setting. Reston, Va.: W. B. O'Neill.
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