Course Syllabus

ENGL 2360 Contemporary World Literature

Course Description

This course is an introduction to world literature of the 20th and 21st centuries, emphasizing literary texts from outside the Anglo-American traditional canon and that circulate worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on non-Western texts. The course will emphasize literary traditions, contemporary ideas and events, various authors, careful reading, literary analysis, and thoughtful interpretation.

Justification

English 2630 is an introduction to the study of literary works written by contemporary authors—defined for the purposes of this class as 20th- and 21st-century writers—outside the Anglo-American traditional canon and whose work circulates worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on non-Western literary traditions. This course will provide exposure to various literatures that are often passed over in favor of more “canonical” or familiar texts. Such approaches are informed by current trends in literary studies and will aid students who are English majors and others by exposing them to variations in ethnicity, language, geography, history, gender, and many others.This course offers a general education opportunity to students who would like to come to a greater intellectual and personal appreciation of written works from the global community. It is most like English 2630 at Salt Lake Community College, and it was suggested by a program review of the English Department.The Humanities are a group of academic disciplines that study the many ways that humans have attempted to understand themselves and their world. At Snow College, the Humanities focus on cultural traditions expressed largely through text or which have a strong textual component: languages, literature, and philosophy. The methods by which the Humanities study culture are at once analytical and interpretive, objective and subjective, historical and aesthetic.

General Education Outcomes

1. A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. Students will contribute to their fundamental knowledge of the humanities by reading a selection of literature and using class discussion to explore the ways the global writings represent different cultures and the ways they influence contemporary ideas. Students will demonstrate their consideration of readings and their interpretations of the texts in written essays, examinations, projects, and class discussion.
2. A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. Students will read a variety of literary texts historical or contextual information and will be quizzed on content. They will demonstrate constructive and critical responses to discussion questions, writing prompts, and writing assignments. These responses will demonstrate their careful reading and evaluation of information from traditional and electronic media.
3. A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. Students will use multiple disciplines to analyze complex problems considered in world literature. They will consider these problems from historical, literary, cultural, communication, political, scientific, and other disciplinary perspectives. Class discussions, group work, quizzes, and exams will allow students to identify, contextualize, and explain representative authors, works, and movements in contemporary literature.
4. A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Students will be able to read, interpret, analyze, and respond to a representative selection of primary literary texts from various world authors. Reading strategies, writing assignments, discussion, and exams will allow students to demonstrate an ability to read critically in order to understand, explain, and evaluate literary texts.
5. A student who completes the GE curriculum can communicate effectively through writing and speaking. Students will be able to write interpretive and analytic essays supported through textual analysis. They will demonstrate this through essays and other written assignments, and be given feedback on written drafts in order to improve thinking and writing skills from one assignment to the next.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. Through the study of a representative selection of world literature, students will examine a variety of philosophical problems concerning human thought and experience in contemporary societies (e.g., human nature, race and identity, power and colonial status, individuality and society, etc.). Class discussions, essays, and essay exams will allow students to demonstrate that they can articulate ways in which authors writing contemporary literature have asked and answered various questions; they will also allow students to demonstrate that they can participate in discussions about these questions. Through the study of a representative selection of world literature, students will examine a variety of philosophical problems concerning human thought and experience in contemporary societies (e.g., human nature, race and identity, power and colonial status, individuality and society, etc.). Class discussions, essays, and essay exams will allow students to demonstrate that they can articulate ways in which authors writing contemporary literature have asked and answered various questions; they will also allow students to demonstrate that they can participate in discussions about these questions.
2. Understand how knowledge is created through the study of language systems, literature, and/or philosophy. Through the practice of close reading (literary analysis) of a range of literary texts from around the world, students will understand how knowledge is created within the field of literature. Students will be able to understand how such elements as history, audience, authorial choices in relation to the text, and personal biases impact the reading of a text. Students will be asked to demonstrate their ability to read closely on exams and in written assignments.
3. Understand cultural traditions within an historical context and make connections with the present. Students will understand the respective cultural traditions that produced and that are represented in world literature. They will also be able to discuss contemporary world literature in an historical context and be able to articulate connections with contemporary culture. Class discussions, quizzes, and exams will allow students to identify, contextualize, and explain representative authors, works, and movements in contemporary literature.
4. Critically read and respond to primary texts (original, uninterpreted) from a Humanities’ perspective. Students will be able to read, interpret, analyze, and respond to a representative selection of primary literary texts from various world authors. Reading strategies, writing assignments, discussion, and exams will allow students to demonstrate an ability to read critically in order to understand, explain, and evaluate literary texts.
5. Write effectively within the Humanities discipline to analyze and form critical and aesthetic judgments. Students will be able to write interpretive and analytic essays supported through textual analysis. They will be given feedback on written drafts in order to improve thinking and writing skills from one assignment to the next. This will be assessed through essays and other written assignments.

Course Content

A general world literature anthology and/or additional readings of the instructor’s choice are used to present and illustrate historical, geographic, religious, cultural, and economic contexts from a global perspective. Attention will also be given to the nature of and complications from translation.