Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2022 - WL 100 D100

What is World Literature? (3)

Class Number: 7431

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 10 – Apr 11, 2022: Fri, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    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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FICTION has long investigated 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?  Beginning from Euripides classic dramatization of the threatening boundaries between public virtues and private passions, students in this classroom course learn to see how the problem of the self in WORLD LITERATURE acquires new metaphors as it travels from place to place.  Following our introduction to the ethics of the body, we explore Oyono’s century-old novella of race and hypocrisy in Africa; Eileen Chang’s Hong Kong stories; Duras’s colonial exploration of love across racial lines.  Lastly, we view the award winning Senegalese film Atlantique.  Each of our course texts contemplates how national and personal outlooks change when they are forced into the open; and each explores the same question: if ‘language is the main instrument of man’s refusal to accept the world as it is,’ how might crossing boundaries be a way of rebelling against cultural difference?

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • Introductory understanding of World Literature as a field practice
  • Basic comprehension of terms and concepts of literary criticism
  • Ability to cognize and compare literary texts as social discourses
  • Ability to undertake comparisons across different cultural media

Grading

  • In-Class Essay 20%
  • Presentation 10%
  • Term Paper 30%
  • Midterm 25%
  • Participation 15%

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

 

REQUIRED READING:

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

Houseboy, Ferdinand Oyono. Waveland.
ISBN: 978-1577669883

Love in a Fallen City, Zhang Ailing / Eileen Chang. NYRB.
ISBN: 978-1590171783

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

FILM  [PROVIDED] Atlantique                 SENEGAL 2019 / Mati DIOP director                                                                     

  


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 SPRING 2022

Teaching at SFU in spring 2022 will involve primarily in-person instruction, with safety plans in place.  Some courses will still be offered through remote methods, and if so, this will be clearly identified in the schedule of classes.  You will also know at enrollment whether remote course components will be “live” (synchronous) or at your own pace (asynchronous).

Enrolling in a course acknowledges that you are able to attend in whatever format is required.  You should not enroll in a course that is in-person if you are not able to return to campus, and should be aware 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.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who may need class or exam accommodations, including in the context of remote learning, are advised to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112) as early as possible in order to prepare for the spring 2022 term.