L214 22371 LITERARY MASTERPIECES II
Jeffrey Huntsman

9:30a-10:45a TR (30 students) 3 cr. A&H.

TOPIC: “World Anglophone Literature exclusive of England and North America”

This offering of L214 will be somewhat different from the usual selection of post-Renaissance, acknowledged masterpieces such as Wuthering Heights, Don Juan, and Ulysses. Our aim here is to broaden the scope for judging excellence beyond the borders of Great Britain and the United States and Canada, to include works of great quality from other writers in English from Asia, Southeast Asia, Pacifica, Africa, the West Indies, and South America. The exact reading list has not been established yet, but should be quite similar to the current offering, whose books are listed below. Books by these writers have been awarded such international literary honors as the Nobel, Booker, and Commonwealth Writers prizes, so there is little chance that the reading list will be of lesser quality than the canonical "masterpieces" of the usual English and American literature courses. The course will be conducted as an extended discussion—as much like a seminar as the size allows. There will be two or three papers (4-5 pp long), which you will be encouraged to revise and resubmit, a practice that will improve your writing, your understanding of the material and, not accidentally, your grade. There will also be a midterm and final. The reading list will be finalized sometime in the summer; if you want to get started before the fall, send me an email message (huntsman@indiana.edu) and I will send you the list as soon as it is available.

Texts: Murray Bail, Eucalyptus; J.M. Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians; Nikki Gemmell, Alice Springs; Keri Hulme, Bone People; Thomas Kinealley, Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith; V.S. Naipaul, A Bend in the River; Ngugi W. Thionmg'o, A Grain of Wheat; Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient; Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea; Arundhati Roy, God of Small Things; Amos Tutola, Palm Wine Drinkard.