Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2021 - WL 100 D100

What is World Literature? (3)

Class Number: 4416

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 12 – Aug 9, 2021: TBA, TBA
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Explores how texts travel beyond their cultures of origin, influence other cultural contexts and ideas, and become works of world literature. Introduces the concepts of cross-cultural literary criticism and translation. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:


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WL 100 — LITERATURE, LANGUAGE, & THE INVENTION OF THE WORLD

Stories have long explored what it is to move from place to place along with one’s social and political settings, but what of the movement of our feelings – are these created or translated the same way?  Beginning from Euripides’s classic dramatization of the threatening boundaries between public virtues and private passions, we learn to see how the problem of the self in WORLD LITERATURE acquires new metaphors as it travels from place to place.  But if this means that we are transformed through new languages or settings, does this mean that the world is changed as well?

Each course module addresses the act of cultural comparison through a different national literature.  Following our introduction to the ethics of human difference and the body, we explore a series of global texts and fictions through a combination of recorded materials, readings, and class conversations.  We also watch a Turkish film concerning the clash of tradition and modernity, Bliss (Mutluluk 2007), and end the course with a searing exploration of love across racial lines.  Each course module contemplates how cultural and personal outlooks alter when they are forced into a new environment; and each explores the same question: if ‘language is the main instrument of man’s refusal to accept the world’ as it is given to us, how might crossing boundaries be a way of rebelling against difference?


PLEASE NOTE: WL 100 is a Canvas/Zoom course. Prerecorded LECTURES and additional short readings will be made available through Canvas.  Students will view these on their own time (asynchronously) prior to the synchronous Tutorial portion of each week’s class: TUE 12:30-1:50PM or 2:30-3:50PM.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • Introductory understanding of World Literature as a cross-cultural discipline
  • Basic comprehension of terms and concepts of literary & criticism translation
  • Ability to read literary translations critically and in context
  • Ability to undertake comparisons across different media

Grading

  • Participation and Attendance 15%
  • Short Paper 20%
  • Comments/Quizzes 15%
  • Term Paper 25%
  • Midterm Test 25%

NOTES:

OFFICE HOUR:    Zoom TUE 4-5PM – appointments recommended but not required

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

 

REQUIRED READING:

Hippolytus, Euripides ( trans. R. Bagg ). Oxford.
ISBN: 978-0195072907

The Lover, Marguerite Duras. Pantheon. 
ISBN: 978-0375700521

A supplementary selection of short texts will be provided via Canvas

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

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

TEACHING AT SFU IN SUMMER 2021

Teaching at SFU in summer 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods, but we will continue to have in-person experiential activities for a selection of courses.  Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).