ENG 141: Intro to World Literature - Spring 2021
This course will introduce students to works of literature in translation from important international writers with origins in diverse countries including Iraq, Japan, Nigeria, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (colloquially known as North Korea), the Philippines, India, and Columbia, among others. These works have been translated into English and comment on themes and concepts important to world literature, such as: the individual versus the state, families, immigration, citizenship, war, identity, and human rights. We will discuss the historical and political contexts for our readings in order to situate these voices in their social and cultural frameworks.
Specific Course Goals
· Improve and refine close-reading and analytical skills
· Increase and improve knowledge of important international writers past and present
· Improve and refine your ability to identify the conventions of form and genre (novels, poetry, short story, Gothic, magical realism, etc.,) as they pertain to our readings in world literature
· Improve knowledge of translation theory and its importance to reading works in translation
· Improve knowledge of the historical and cultural frameworks that inform our readings
