Course details

Name: ENGL - 206

Title: WORLD LITERATURE: COMING OF AGE THEME

Section: 02

Semester: Fall - 2017

Credits: 3

Description:
Coming-of-age stories mark a loss of innocence, and they punctuate the shift from childhood to adulthood. In this course, we will examine why writers use this universal motif to describe their experiences after 1945, a period marked by the end of several global atrocities (the Holocaust, the Atom Bomb, colonialism) and the beginning of new revolutions for individuals, communities, and nations. What lessons do coming-of-age stories teach readers from all over the world? During the first few weeks, we will compare folk and fairy tales from Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America, and discuss literature related to the Atom Bomb (short stories collected by Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe, and Hiroshima Mon Amour, by Marguerite Duras). The second unit moves to Africa (Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions). The final unit invites students to read the motif of coming-of-age critically in the memoir, I, Rigoberta Menchú. Exposure to literature from Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America will help students appreciate the way literature reflects and shapes global issues. Satisfies for all students: GER F1, Great Works & their Influences.

Book List:

Cole, Joanna. Best-Loved Folktales of the World (The Anchor folktale library). Anchor: 978-0385189491

Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervous Conditions. Ayebia Clarke: 978-0954702335

Duras, Marguerite. Hiroshima mon amour. Grove, 978-0802131041

Kenzaburo Oe, ed., The Crazy Iris. Grove, 978-0802151841 (avail. in pdf)

I, Rigoberta Menchú: an Indian Woman in Guatemala. Verso, 978-1844674183

Last updated on 2017-03-25 By Nielsen Wendy (nielsenw)

Schedule: Thursday From 2:30 pm To 5:00 pm

Graduation requirements:

• Any Literature (1e)
• Genre Study (Fiction)
• ()
• ()
• International Issues (3a)
• Women and Gender Studies (3c)
• World Literature (TE 6a)

Teaching Faculty: Nielsen Wendy (nielsenw)

Is course canceled: No