L204 4337 HAMPTON
Introduction to Fiction

2:30p-3:20p D (25) 3 cr.

COAS INTENSIVE WRITING SECTION

MARGINALIZED BODIES IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD LITERATURE
The primary function of this course is to expose readers to an eclectic body of literature in the hopes of obtaining a better understanding of the "Other" and "Ourselves" and how these two concepts have been and continue to be dependent upon one another.
Questions of identity and power relations along with the thematic and architectural content of the included narratives will all be reoccurring topics of discussion. The treatment of the marginalized body with regards to racial, sexual, gender, and national identity are of particular interest in this course as the notion of the "Colonization of the Marginalized," will act as a significant engine for the discussion in the course. Students should expect:

to read and analyze novels and essays in conjunction with related critical materials and films.

to become familiar with the terminology and traditions of literary criticism relevant to the texts that will be engaged.

to develop oral and written competence in literary analysis via research and discussion.

to examine carefully the interrelationships among race, sex, gender, and the negotiation of power.

to briefly step outside the Western aesthetic.

Required Texts:
The Tempest by Shakespeare; A Tempest by Aime Cesaire; Things Fall Apart by Achebe; Yellow Woman and A Beauty of the Spirit by Silko; Bloodchild by Octavia Butler. There will also be supplementary texts and films: The Tempest [Set in Ante-Bellum Mississippi Bayou, Starring Peter Fonda); Smoke Signals; and Aliens [parts two and four]

Writing requirements will include two 5-7 page papers and a weekly one-page Critical Journal Entry.