Approaches to Literature ( 文學作品讀法 )
Fall 2010
Tuesday 9:10-12:00, 共二講堂
Instructor: Prof. Jen-yi Hsu
Office hours: Friday 2-4 p.m., and by appointment (jyhsu@mail.ndhu.edu.tw)
Course Description: This class will introduce students to fiction, poetry, and drama and open up a complex field of interpreting and analyzing literature. While the first semester focuses on fiction, the second semester will focus on poetry and drama. We will learn how to approach literature as a distinctive genre with its own specifications and acquaint ourselves with the cultural and historical contexts surrounding the texts. The concern of this class is to engage literature with a critical eye and to introduce students to the complex interactions of region, gender, race, class, and narrative technique. Some basic knowledge of critical theory and its terminology will also be introduced as a preparation for further study.
Required Text:
The Norton Introduction to Literature (Shorter 10th Edition)—to be purchased at the University Bookstore
Course Requirements:
1. Class Prep: You are expected to finish the reading assignments before each class meeting.
2. Attendance: Attendance is mandatory; you are responsible for coming to class on time. Excessive and consistent lateness will also harm your grade. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. You will automatically fail the course if you miss more than 2 classes. If you must be absent for an extended period of time, you must consult with me to determine the best alternative for completing the course.
3. Oral Report: Two students as a group will be assigned one text for your group report. In the report, you have to introduce the biographical information of the author, summarize the plot of the story, analyze the main characters, and select passages that play crucial roles in the whole development of the story. I encourage creative presentation ideas. You are expected to present in front of the class, ready to take questions.
4. Midterm and final exams: Remember, there will be no make-up exams. Missing the exams will result in failing the course.
5. Blog entries: You are expected to submit 10 blog entries throughout the semester. Deadlines will be announced on the blog: http://literarycollage.blogspot.com/
Grading Policy:
Midterm 30%, final exam 30%, presentation and class participation 30%, blog entries 10%
Course Schedule:
Week 1: 9/14 Intro
Week 2: 9/21 (Plot) “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin (63-85); “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton (85-94)
Week 3: 9/28 (Narration and Point of View): “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe (101-5,Linda and Erica); “Araby” by James Joyce (503-7,Stanley and Bert)
Week 4: 10/5 “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (213--24,Patty and Una); “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner (391-7, Peace and Lily)
Week 5: 10/12 (Setting): “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov (169-80, Sherry, Sammi, and Ethan); “Flowering Judas” by Katherine Anne Porter (180-88, Winni, Fion, and Vedran)
Week 6: 10/19 (Symbol and Figurative Language): “The Thing in the Forest” by A.S. Byatt (224-38, Celina, Katherine, Judy)
Week 7: 10/26 Film Screening: Age of Innocence
Week 8: 11/2 (Theme): “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Marquez (271-5, Nick and Edison); “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (354-65, King, Sai, 徐浩嚴)
Week 9: 11/19 Midterm
Week 10: 11/16 no class
Week 11: 11/23 “A Hunger Artist” by Kafka (507-13, Beatrice, Maggie, Daphnie); “The Garden of Forking Paths” by Jorge Luis Borges (463-9, Joanna Taphy, 劉黃芸芸)
Week 12: 11/30 “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence (513-24, Daniel, Jim, Jamison); “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin (353-4, Jojo, 洪睿琦)
Week 13: 12/7 “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison (139-52, Jenny, Linda, Alice); “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro (570-9, Ashley, Cherry, Sammy); “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid (116-7, Clare and Vera)
Week 14: 12/14 Film Screening: Beloved
Week 15: 12/21 “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” (299-310, Andrew and Jeffrey), and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor (323-33, Andy and Bruce)
Week 16: 12/28 “The Management of Grief” by Bharati Mukherjee (559-70, 岑藹欣and黃翊紘); “The Prophet’s Hair” by Salman Rushdie (579-89, Ben and James)
Week 17: 1/4 Film Screening: The Namesake
Week 18: 1/11 final exam
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