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N E W G L O B A L L A N D S C A P E S Dr. Christy
Call Office:
EHall, room 462 Office Hours:
Tuesdays 2:30 to 3:30 or by
appointment Contact: [email protected]
COURSE DESCRIPTION This
course will focus on reading
titles in contemporary world
literature that explore interconnected
landscapes shaped by mass migrations,
globalized economies, political
instabilities, and environmental
degradations. The dramatized world
is, to put it simply, a
deeply complex and demanding space.
As we will see, contemporary
world literature frequently directs a
reader’s attention to vexing ethical
issues that provoke questions of
responsibility and duty. We
will examine these questions as
they pertain not only to other
humans, including those defined as
both proximate and distant, but
to nonhumans as well, which
register today, in a time of
mass extinction, as increasingly
threatened by a lack of
consideration. COURSE MATERIALS
• A Tale for the Time Being
by Ruth Ozeki • A Small Place
by Jamaica Kincaid • The
Man Who Read Love Stories by
Luis Sepulveda • Elizabeth Costello
by J.M. Coetzee
Excerpts posted on Canvas will
also include readings from: • The
Mushroom at the End of the
World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
• Precarious Life by Judith Butler
And films and photographic works
from: • Manufactured Landscapes by
Edward Burtnysky • Midway by Chris
Jordan • and Sabastiao Salgado’s
photography
Fall Semester 2016 World Literature;
English 3730 EHall, room 403;
Tues/Thurs 12:00 to 1:15
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LEARNING OUTCOMES Students will:
• Develop close reading and critical
thinking skills; • Locate and
explicate key themes in works
of contemporary world lit; •
Demonstrate understandings of postcolonial
and critical theory in written
analyses; • Improve writing and
literary research skills.
COURSEREQUIREMENTS Participation: My
teaching emphasizes discussions, and
this course will centralize this
approach. To earn full participation
credit, each of you must read
all of the assigned readings
closely and be prepared to
discuss your ideas. After each
class, I will make notes about
our conversations. My notes
will indicate your level of
participation. This does not
mean that I have any specific
requirement that each of you
say something each class session.
I don’t. I mean only
that each of you should
contribute regularly to discussions.
There will be days when you
have more to say than other
days. There will be readings
that provoke your thinking more
than others. All of this
is expected, but focus during
the semester on active participation
and engagement.
Attendance: Aside from contributing
to class discussions, you are
expected to attend each class
session on time. You may
miss 2 classes without a direct
penalty (although any assignment(s)
due on a particular date must
be turned in on that date),
but missing more than 2
classes, which amounts to a
full week of class, will
negatively impact your grade.
Each absence after the second
will drop your final grade by
a ½ letter. Cell Phones
and Electronics: Go old school
in here with a notebook and
pen. Cell phones and
electronic devices should be turned
off.
Attendance / Participation = 15%
of grade
Posts: At designated points in the
semester, we will continue class
conversations through the discussion
feature on Canvas. These posts
may address an issue from a
reading, a topic of conversation
that emerges in class, or a
film and/or photographic work.
We will talk through these
posts with some depth every
week that they are assigned so
that you are clear about the
expectations.
Posts = 25% of grade
Responses: Three short analytical
responses will be assigned this
semester with the goal of
critically examining a theme from
a reading. We will talk
through these assignments in depth.
Expectations will be clearly
discussed, and you will find a
rubric for this (and every
assignment) posted to Canvas.
I will listen to your ideas
carefully and responses will be
formulated based on points of
interest given our discussions in
class. It is my goal to
assign writing that genuinely engages
your interest and extends your
understanding.
Responses = 25% of grade
Final Paper: At the end of
the semester, each of you will
submit a final paper that
showcases your best analytical
writing. This essay (10 +
pages) will demonstrate evidence of
close reading and critical thinking.
Specifically, I will look for:
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• Development and organization of ideas;
• Explication of themes and
theoretical concepts related to
contemporary world lit; and • Quality
writing, free of grammatical or
usage errors.
Final Paper = 25% of grade
Final Presentations: At the
end of the semester, after each
of you will have read and
written a great deal, we will
hold a round table discussion
where you present (for roughly
10 minutes) ideas about your
learning over our weeks together.
Think of this presentation as
informal and as a continuation
of the kinds of conversations
we have been having. You’ll
share your insights. You’ll
direct us to passages from
texts that register as significant.
You’ll make your case for
certain arguments, theoretical
explications, and textual interpretations.
Final Discussion = 10% of grade
Participation / Attendance 15%
Posts 25% Responses 25% Final
Paper 25% Final Presentations 10%
UNIVERSITY POLICIES: Academic
Dishonesty: As specified in
PPM 6-‐22 IV D, cheating and
plagiarism violate the Student Code.
Plagiarism is “the unacknowledged
(uncited) use of any other
person’s or group’s ideas or
work.” Students found guilty
of cheating or plagiarism are
subject to failure of a
specific assignment, or, in more
serious cases, failure of the
entire course. Core Beliefs:
According to PPM 6-‐22 IV,
students are to “[d]etermine, before
the last day to drop courses
without penalty, when course
requirements conflict with a
student's core beliefs. If there
is such a conflict, the student
should consider dropping the class.
A student who finds this
solution impracticable may request a
resolution from the instructor. This
policy does not oblige the
instructor to grant the request,
except in those cases when a
denial would be arbitrary and
capricious or illegal. This request
must be made to the instructor
in writing and the student must
deliver a copy of the request
to the office of the department
head. The student's request must
articulate the burden the requirement
would place on the student's
beliefs.” Disability Accommodation:
PPM 3-‐34 notes: “When students
seek accommodation in a regularly
scheduled course, they have the
responsibility to make such requests
at the Center for Students with
Disabilities before the beginning of
the quarter [semester] in which
the accommodation is being requested.
When a student fails to make
such arrangements, interim accommodations
can be made by the instructor,
pending the determination of the
request for a permanent
accommodation.” Emergency Closure:
If for any reason the
university is forced to close
for an extended period of time,
we will conduct our class via
the course Canvas page.
