Time Schedule:
Delphine Gras
C LIT 240
Seattle Campus
Comparative approach to literature and a workshop in writing comparative papers in English. Emphasis on cross-cultural comparison of literary works. Readings in English with an option to read selected texts in the original languages Offered: AWSp.
Class description
This course seeks to provide students with an opportunity to enhance their reading, writing, and analytical skills, as we examine how reconstructing memory affects the self and/or the community. Offering students a larger appreciation of the diversity of texts written in a variety of languages and genres, this course will focus on the relationship between personal memory, narratives, and history. We will use plays, novels, poems, and theoretical essays written in to address the following questions: What is at stake in remembering and reconstructing memory? What is the relation between memory and imagination? Is memory subjective and, therefore, unreliable? Is memory the only factor that jeopardizes the reliability of the narratives and narrators? What are the interplays between language use, genre, and the task of tracing back a narrative? How do the writers perceive the role of voicing memory? Is it a personal or collective experience? How do their characters, in turn, struggle and/or manage to remember? What role does orality play? Can personal memory affect official history; and if so, how?
Required Texts 1. Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. London: Arden Shakespeare, 2007. 2. Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. New York: Bantam Books, 2005. 3. Césaire, Aimé. Return to my Native Land. New Castle: Bloodaxe, 1995. 4. Morrison, Toni. The Blues Eye. New York: Penguin Books, 1994. 5. Castillo, Ana. The Mixquiahuala Letters. New York: Anchor, 1992. 6. Course Reader
Student learning goals
To strengthen your skills as a reader and a critical writer. We will thus discuss literary from different cultural traditions, paying close attention to the ways the works under study represent and address memory. You will be given the choice to read texts in English or in their original language
To develop analytical reading skills: to be able to understand not just the narrative, but also the style, tone, genre, and literary strategies deployed by a writer
To locate and construct arguments: to develop your analytical, synthesizing, and organizational skills in order to produce a coherent and convincing paper
To support your claim with textual evidence and literary analysis: to engage with a text meaningfully, avoid paraphrase, and learn how to analyze the quotes used in your argumentation
To elaborate your own research about a given topic: from response papers and analytical papers to comparative papers, your writing skills should improve and you will be given more freedom to elaborate your own research
General method of instruction
The primary expectation is that students will actively engage with the texts in oral and written assignments. While there will be a strong emphasis on class participation, individually or in group, this is a composition class that entails a large amount of writing. We will have daily class discussions with specific in-class activities such as presentations and peer-editing sessions, as well as written assignments to enable students to elaborate their arguments orally and in writing, while getting the opportunity to share their ideas and obtaining regular feedback from their peers and instructor.
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
Oral Participation (class discussion, peer-editing...): 20% One Group Presentation: 10%
Written Weekly Response Papers: 20% Analytical Paper: 10% Comparative Paper: 20% Final Paper: 20%
