EN203: World Literature, 1500-1800

Tuesday, Thursday 5:00PM – 6:15, Gailhac 2008

Fall 2012 

Dr. Howe

Office: Gailhac 2011 | Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:00-1:30, Thursdays 11:00-4:30 | Phone: 703-284-5762 | thowe@marymount.edu

Final Exam: W (Dec 12) 12-2:30 p.m.

Course Website: http://thowe.pbworks.com 

I am, however, encouraged by a keen sense of world literature as the one great heart that beats for the cares and misfortunes of our world, even though each corner sees and experiences them in a different way.

--Alexander Solzehnitsyn, Nobel Lecture, 1970
   

Thank you all for a wonderful term! It was my pleasure to get to know you all, and I hope you feel as though you got something out of this course--stronger writing skills, a deeper sense of history and culture during the early modern period, the significance of this literature and its contemporary legacy, an appreciation for the many distinct cultural traditions in the work we've studied. The study guide is at the bottom of this page, but if you want a video overview of the final exam format, I've made a (Windows-formatted) webcast that gives you all the necessary information. Don't forget to fill out your final course evaluations, and I will see you all at the exam. 

UNIVERSITY STATEMENTS

Academic Integrity

By accepting this syllabus, you pledge to uphold the principles of Academic Integrity expressed by the Marymount University Community. You agree to observe these principles yourself and to defend them against abuse by others.

Special Needs and Accommodations

Please advise the instructor of any special problems or needs at the beginning of the semester.  If you seek accommodation based on disabilities, you should provide a Faculty Contact Sheet obtained through the Office of Student Access Services, located in Rowley Hall.

Access to Student Work

Copies of your work in this course including copies of any submitted papers and your portfolios may be kept on file for institutional research, assessment and accreditation purposes. All work used for these purposes will be submitted anonymously. 

Student Copyright Authorization

For the benefit of current and future students, work in this course may be used for educational critique, demonstrations, samples, presentations, and verification.  Outside of these uses, work shall not be sold, copied, broadcast, or distributed for profit without student consent. 

University Policy on Snow Closings

Snow closings are generally announced on area radio stations. For bulletins concerning Marymount snow or weather closings, call (703) 526-6888. Unless otherwise advised by radio announcement or by official bulletins on the number listed above, students are expected to report for class as near normal time as possible on days when weather conditions are adverse. Decisions as to snow closing or delayed opening are not generally made before 5:00 AM of the working day. Students are expected to attend class if the University is not officially closed. 

1. Broad Purpose of Course:

A study of world literature from the 15th through the 18th centuries. Prerequisite: EN 102 or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts Core/University Requirements Designation: GP, LT-1. (3)

The centuries from 1500 to 1800 are characterized by an unprecedented level of cosmopolitanism. Under the influence of exploration and exploitation, trade and dialogue, the world was beginning to seem both smaller and larger. Vernacular struggles shaped the literary landscape and the patterns of encounter between cultures, resulting in a dramatic shift in the content and form of language across the globe. New forms arose to describe new personal identities and new political problems; the lyric subject, the public theater, the essay, the prose narrative, the poet of public sensibility: all are new ways of seeing a world rapidly becoming modern. This course will explore early modern world literature from one of the perspectives most characteristic of the period—the encounter, both physical and imaginative. We will examine encounters between selves, between selves and others, between worlds, and between worldviews. To speak to the overarching theme of this class, coursework will require active encounters both collaborative and individual; among other work, it will include a variety of, quizzes, brief writing assignments and responses, and two exams.

2. Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will:

Core Learning Outcomes: University Requirements  [Global Perspective]

• demonstrate an understanding of the interconnectedness of human problems and concerns across cultures and nations as expressed in literary texts.
• evaluate how culture shapes identity development, values, assumptions, and social interaction in literature.

Core General Learning Outcomes: Skills [Analysis, Critical Reasoning, and Problem-Solving]

• practice analytical discourse, critical reasoning, and problem-solving through close textual analysis and interpretation of literature.
• apply knowledge and experience in literary analysis to new texts.

Core General Learning Outcomes: Attitudes [Aesthetic Appreciation] 

• examine the aesthetic principles that inform literary production and apply them to the study and analysis of literary texts. 

Introductory Literature Core Outcomes:  200-level courses 

• recognize literature as an expression of the human condition by identifying themes, movements, and texts that constitute literary and cultural traditions.
• demonstrate skills in close reading and interpretation by applying the conventions and vocabulary of literary analysis.
• examine the historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts that inform literary discourse.

3. Teaching Method: Lecture, Discussion, Student Presentation

4. Grading Policy:

 Participation                                                                                        10%

 Paraphrases, Summaries, Responses, Quizzes                              40%                            

 One- or Two-Person Image Presentation                                          20%

 2 Examinations                                                                                   30%

 Extra Credit—recitation (see me!)                                                                 

5. Schedule:

Note: This schedule is subject to change! Please check back daily--that is part of your responsibility as a student. Remember to read all the footnotes!

Week 1: 8/28 - Overview of Course, image presentation

8/30 - Encounters with Islam (Intro; C.3-); Evliya Celebi (C.84-92).   Image Presentation: Amy and Jillian.

Additional resources: 

The Art of the Abbasid Period (750–1258)

The Art of the Mughals before 1600

The Art of the Ottomans before 1600

The Book of Travels Online Exhibit

Week 2: 9/4 - Indian Poetry after Islam (C.92-93); Basavanna, Mahadadeviyakka, Kabir (All intros, poems, and footnotes).  Layal.
9/6 - Basavanna, Madhadeviyakka, Kabir.  Response Due: Muslim or Hindu Literature. Choose two poems and use them to illustrate a single theme discussed in the introductory materials (full 2 pages, MLA). Cristina and Andrea.

Week 3: 9/11 -  Europe and the New World (Intro, C.123-).  Mariah. Prezi lecture.
9/13 - Petrarch and the Love Lyric (Intro, C. 164-); Petrarch (Intro, poems, footnotes).  Cherie.

Week 4: 9/18 - Lyric Poetry: Labe, Franco, Shakespeare (Intros, poems, footnotes).  Melany and Jessica.
9/20 - More. Utopia Book I. Anne.

Week 5: 9/25 -  Montaigne, Essays (Intro, "To The Reader," "Of the Power of the Imagination," "Of Cannibals," "Of the Inconsistency of our Actions."   Mary Kate.
9/27 -  More and Montaigne. Essay due: Using examples (paraphrase or direct, but always quoted) from two places in your anthology, write a 2-page MLA formatted essay answering the question"How does Montaigne view human identity or will?" Note that you do not need to write on both identity and will.   Kimberly.

Week 6: 10/2 -  The Encounter of Europe and the New World (C.517-); Columbus (Intro, letter, footnotes); Caminha (Intro, letter, footnotes), Cortes (Intro, letter, footnotes), las Casas (Intro, excerpts, footnotes). Gabriela and Xaiver.

10/4 - Midterm Exam

Week 7: 10/9 -  No Class 

10/11 - de Vega, Fuenteovejuna (Intro, play, footnotes). Dajuan and Darian. Fuenteovejuna video in Spanish, online

Week 8:  10/16 -  Fuenteovejuna. Response due. Identify the an overall message of the play; then, choose an important scene and describe why it is important to that overall message. 2-page MLA. Julita.
10/18 -  East Asian Drama (D.3-). Mon’zaemon, Love Suicides at Amijima (Intro, play, notes). Elvis. 1969 film online.

.

Week 9: 10/23 - Mon'zaemon, continued.  Javy, Lex.
10/25 - The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas (D.91-).  Amanda.  YouTube video on Enlightenment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vkx7hNXE3Y

Week 10: 10/30 - What Is Enlightenment? Johnson, Kant Descartes, Diderot, Franklin (101-128).  Janet. Class idea-term list!
11/1 - What Is Enlightenment? Hume, Beattie, Wollstonecraft, de Sade (129-140). Corinne. Extra Credit Essay: 2-pages, MLA formatted. What is Enlightenment? This is meant to give you an opportunity to reflect, using our materials, on the nature of the Enlightenment period. You can look specifically at Kant's essay to answer the question in his words, or you can use the introductory materials to craft an answer to the question, "What is Enlightenment?"

Week 11: 11/6 - Moliere, Tartuffe (Intro, play, notes).  Jamie, Rebecca.
11/ 8 - Tartuffe, cont'd.  Chris and Breanne.

Week 12: 11/13 - Sor Juana, Reply to Sor Filotea (Intro, Excerpt, Notes).  Aisha.
11/15 - Pope, Rape of the Lock. Amaris. Audio files.

Week 13: 11/20 - Pope, The Rape of the Lock.  Robert. Recitation: Melany. Image presentation: Amaris.
Response due. Draw on one well-chosen theme relevant to the Enlightenment and discussed in your introduction (either to the section on the Enlightenment or to Pope) and illustrate its appearance in Pope's mock-epic poem. 2-page MLA.

11/22 - Thanksgiving Holiday *begin reading Candide! 

Week 14: 11/27 - Voltaire, Candide (Intro, Excerpt, Notes). Trevor, Ross.  

11/29 - Conclusions.  Early Modern Japanese Popular Literature (D.585-). The World of Haiku intro, Basho, and Buson (613ff). Patricia, Jorge.

Week 15: 12/4 - Early Modern Japanese Popular Literature, Haiku. Conclusions.

12/5 - 11:00-1:00, Dining Hall, group study and Q&A with Dr. Howe

12/6 -  Class Canceled! Study for your exam!

Final exam: W (Dec 12) 12-2:30 p.m.

6. Required Materials:

Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volumes C and D

Notebook

7. Policies (outside of normal courtesy and appropriate behavior!)

• Your participation is crucial to your learning and success in this course and will be evaluated as part of your grade.
  
• Late assignments will be penalized one letter grade for every class day they are late. Late assignments will not be accepted more than two weeks after the due date.
• If you miss a class period, it is your responsibility to get accurate class notes from a peer--it is not my responsibility to reconstruct the class you miss.
  
• You will deliver oral presentations during the semester; if you are absent on the day you are scheduled to present to the class, you will not be able to make up the work and your grade will be an “0” unless you submit documentation for an excused absence.
• All of the reading assignments must be completed by the assigned date.  Come to class prepared to discuss the readings.
• Students are required to have access to Blackboard and are responsible for keeping their e-mail addresses current in Blackboard.