Time Schedule:
Amy C. Lanning
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
The Dialectics of the Self: In this writing-centered course we will investigate the dialectic between the natural and the social aspects of being as represented in fictional works that thematize the concept of the split-self, in particular Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and Francois Truffaut's The Wild Child. We will also explore the historical context of this topic by discussing the philosophical undercurrents related to the period of each text. From a technical standpoint, students will learn to think and write critically in order to produce essays that engage the current academic debates related to these texts and to our course theme.
Student learning goals
In this course you will learn to construct arguments analyzing the texts that we read in terms of genre, form, culture, and history. You will also learn to support your ideas using formal elements within the course texts and to write papers that engage in larger academic conversations at the college level. In the process you will become a more efficient reader of literature and learn to seize and address concepts that are integral to your own purposes as a writer as well as to those of the discipline of Comparative Literature.
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
Grades will be a composite of in-class participation, the HW close reading blog, and multiple written papers.
