I. General Information
1. Course Title:
World Literature
2. Course Prefix & Number:
ENGL 2450
3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:
Credits: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
4. Course Description:
This course is a study of selected works from Western and non-Western literary traditions. Focus will be on critical reading and discussion, literary elements, and analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of literature from different philosophies and cultures.
5. Placement Tests Required:
Accuplacer (specify test): |
Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level |
Score: |
|
6. Prerequisite Courses:
ENGL 2450 - World Literature
There are no prerequisites for this course.
9. Co-requisite Courses:
ENGL 2450 - World Literature
There are no corequisites for this course.
II. Transfer and Articulation
1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:
Inver Hills, ENG 1180 Introduction to World Literature, 4 credits
Century College, ENGL 2051 Modern World Literature, 3 credits
Southwest, LIT 370 Contemporary World Literature, 3 credits
Bemidji State University, ENGL 2370 World Literature, 3 credits
2. Transfer - regional institutions with which this course has a written articulation agreement:
III. Course Purpose
1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):
English Transfer Pathways A.A. Degree
2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:
- Goal 2 – Critical Thinking
- Goal 8 – Global Perspective
IV. Learning Outcomes
1. College-Wide Outcomes
College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies |
Students will be able to: |
Demonstrate oral communication skills |
Participate in class/group discussions (in-class and/or on D2L discussion board), work in small or large groups, prepare and present oral presentations. All discussions/presentations will be conducted using proper etiquette: appropriate behavior as a speaker and/or audience member, respect for self and/or others, and audience awareness. Proper structure and usage will also be required for all discourse. |
Demonstrate written communication skills |
Produce a variety of written assignments that include essays and journals as well as written responses to instructor-generated questions. Written assignments will engaged students in critical thinking and require students to analysis/evaluate/interpret course selections while employing the literary elements: Characterization, conflict, figurative language, foreshadowing, imagery, irony, mood, plot, point of view, symbolism, theme, tone, etc. All written assignments essays will have a title, introduction, thesis, transitions, body paragraphs, topic sentences, and a conclusion. Students are to use MLA format and provide quotes/references in essays to support ideas and claims. Proper usage and structure will also be required for essays as well as all other written assignments. |
Demonstrate interpersonal communication skills |
Participate in class/group discussions (in-class and/or on D2L discussion board), work in small or large groups, prepare and present oral presentations. All discussions/presentations will be conducted using proper etiquette: appropriate behavior as a speaker and/or audience member, respect for self and/or others, and audience awareness. Proper structure and usage will also be required for all discourse. |
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations |
Produce a variety of written assignments that include essays and journals as well as written responses to instructor-generated questions. Written assignments will engaged students in critical thinking and require students to analysis/evaluate/interpret course selections while employing the literary elements: Characterization, conflict, figurative language, foreshadowing, imagery, irony, mood, plot, point of view, symbolism, theme, tone, etc. All written assignments essays will have a title, introduction, thesis, transitions, body paragraphs, topic sentences, and a conclusion. Students are to use MLA format and provide quotes/references in essays to support ideas and claims. Proper usage and structure will also be required for essays as well as all other written assignments. |
Utilize appropriate technology |
Access and identify appropriate critical sources
|
2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of
the course:
- Demonstrate knowledge of literature of under-represented populations (Transfer Pathways);
- Demonstrate understanding of canon formation as a reflection of historical, social, and cultural contexts (Transfer Pathways);
- Develop multicultural awareness and express their understanding and interpretation of selections through application, critical thinking, reading, reflection, and writing (MnTC Goal 2);
- Gather factual information and apply it to a given problem in a manner that is relevant, clear, comprehensive, and conscious of possible bias in the information selected (MnTC Goal 2);
- Interpret, analyze and respond to literary texts from diverse cultures, regions of the world, and time periods (MnTC Goal 2);
- Imagine and seek out a variety of possible goals, assumptions, interpretations, or perspectives which can give alternative meanings of solutions to given situations or problems (MnTC Goal 2);
- Recognize and articulate the value assumptions, which underlie and affect decisions, interpretations, analysis, and evaluations made by others and ourselves (MnTC Goal 2);
- Analyze specific international problems, illustrating the cultural, economic, and political differences that affect their solution (MnTC Goal 8);
- Develop an appreciation for different cultures, economic status, ethnicities, genders, religions, and political views through the study of literature, both historical and contemporary (MnTC Goal 8);
- Demonstrate knowledge of cultural, social, religious and linguistic differences (MnTC Goal 8); and
- Understand the role of a world citizen and the responsibility world citizens share for their common global future (MnTC Goal 8).
V. Topical Outline
Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.
1. Lecture Sessions
Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.
Lecture Sessions
The instructor of this course will select the course readings for World Literature from both Western and non-Western Literature. What follows are mainly suggestions for each unit; instructors are free to choose other selections befitting of the time period.
Unit One- Introduction to Literature
Genre study (drama, poetry, short stories, etc.)
- Elements of literature- literary terms
- Characterization
- Conflict
- Figurative language
- Foreshadowing
- Imagery
- Irony
- Mood
- Plot
- Point of view
- Symbolism
- Theme
- Tone
- Responding to and evaluating literature
Unit Two- The Ancient World (Western Literature and Non-Western)
Introduction to the Ancient World
- Greek and Roman Literature
- Non-Western literature
- The importance of religion to texts
- Genre study
- Mesopotamian literature
- Greek literature
- Epics: Iliad and Odyssey
- Drama: (may include one or more of the following) - Agamemnon, Apology, Lysistrata, Medea, and Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex),
- Poetry: Works by Archilochus and Greek Lyric Poetry
- Roman literature
- Epic: The Aeneid
- Poetry: Works by Gaius Valerius Catullus and Quintus Ennius
- Myths: The Metamorphoses (studied myths chosen at instructor’s discretion)
- Other work for consideration: Confessions or Meditations
- Non-Western literature
- Confucius, Analects (China)
- Hymns from Rig Veda (India)
- Elements of literature
- Character analysis
- Themes
- Foreshadowing
- Responding to and evaluating literature
Unit Three- The Medieval Era (Western and Non-Western Literature)
Introduction to the Medieval Period
- Genre study
- Epic: Beowulf (Western)
- Poetry: Divine Comedy and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Western) and Poetry of the Tang Dynasty – authors include: Wang Wei, Li Bo, and Du Fu (Non-Western: China)
- Folklore: The Thousand and One Nights (Non-Western: Middle Eastern Literature)
- Song Lyrics: Work by Li Yu and Li Qingzhao (Non-Western: China)
- Other: The Canterbury Tales (Western), works by Marie de France and Christine de Pizan (Western) and The Qur’an (Non-Western: Middle Eastern Literature), and Murasaki, Tale of Genji (from Japan)
- Elements of literature
- Protagonist vs. antagonist
- Character sketches
- Allegory and symbolism
- Responding to and evaluating literature
Unit Four-The Early Modern Period (The Renaissance)
Introduction to the Early Modern Period
- The historical background of this time period
- Exploration of new worlds and conquest of empires
- Scientific discovery and technological growth
- Influence of the invention of the printing press to literacy and distribution of texts
- Genre study:
- Novel: Don Quixote
- Poetry: Paradise Lost and sonnets (by Shakespeare, Petrarch, Spencer, Lyly, Marlow, or Jonson)
- Drama: Hamlet (any selection from Shakespeare – instructor’s preference)
- Other works for consideration: The Prince and Utopia, selections by Boccaccio and Petrarch
- Elements of literature
- Conflicts
- Similes and metaphors
- Dramatic irony
- Responding to and evaluating literature
Unit Five- The Age of Enlightenment:
Western Literature and Non- Western Literature
- Introduction to the Age of Enlightenment
- Historical background of this time period
- Growth of commerce and industry
- Continued exploration in the sciences
- Advances in technology
- The emergence of women as readers, writers, and free thinkers.
- Genre study:
- One Enlightenment drama: Moliere’s Tartuffe, Racine’s Phaedra (Western)
- Poetry: Works by Matsu Basho (Non-Western: Japan)
- One major work of satire: Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (selections), Pope’s “An Essay on Man,” or the mock epic “The Rape of the Lock,” Voltaire’s Candide (selections)
- Elements of literature
- Satire
- The mock epic
- Comedy
- Responding to and evaluating literature
Unit Six- The 19th Century:
Introduction to the 19th Century
- Historical background of this time period
- Revolution
- Romanticism
- Realism
- Continuing advances in science and technology
- Women gaining independence and emancipation
- Genre study
- Two major works of poetry from Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Blake, and Byron (Western)
- Drama : Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard (Western)
- Fiction: Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy (Western)
- Epic Poem/Legend: Faust (Western)
- Poetry: works by Ghalib (Non-Western) and Baudelaire: selections from Flowers of Evil & Paris Spleen
- Short Story: “The Yellow Wallpaper” (Western)
- Other: Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Eliot (Western)
- Elements of literature:
- Imagery
- Point of view
- Irony
- Theme of nature
- Responding to and evaluating literature
Unit Seven- 20th Century:
Introduction to the 20th Century
- Historical background of this time period
such as
- Modernism
- Decolonization
- Avant-garde
- Travel
- Media
- Genre study:
- Fiction/Novella: Kafka “The Metamorphosis” (Western)
- Shorty Story: Lu Xun “A Madman’s Diary” (Non-Western)
- Poetry: works by T.S. Eliot (Western)
- Novel: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Non-Western) and Conrad Heart of Darkness (Western)
- Other authors to consider: Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges, and Samuel Beckett (Western).
- Elements of literature
- Character sketch
- Imagery
- Symbolism
- Motifs
- Cultural comparisons
- Responding to and evaluating literature
2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions