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Syllabus for EGL 112.01 World Literature: Modern and Contemporary
1. Course Information:
Instructor: Burcu Kuheylan
E-mail: [email protected]
Office: HUM. Room # 2075
Office Hours: M/W/F 10.00-12.00; 05.30-06.30 (by appointment).
Class Time: M/W 04.00 – 05.20 p.m.
Classroom: Psychology A 146, West Campus
2. Course Description:
Emphasizing literary modernism’s international nature, this fiction class will introduce students
to innovative narrative techniques modernist writers used to represent human condition in the
last century. We will begin the semester with a focus on the rapidly shifting historical conditions
that facilitated modernity, and relate them to modernist writers’ impatience with the old, the
traditional, and the passé. While celebration of novelty, perhaps best encapsulated by Ezra
Pound’s injunction, “Make it New!” became a principle of convergence among modernists from
various cultures and geographic locations, their ways of defining the quality of “new” and
depicting it in their works gave rise to literary modernism as a multi-faceted and multi-temporal
phenomenon. Accordingly, we will analyze fiction by writers as diverse as James Joyce
(Ireland), Franz Kafka (Austria), Virginia Woolf (England), Ernest Hemingway and William
Faulkner (the U.S.), Sadeq Hedayet (Iran), Albert Camus (France), Can Themba (South Africa),
Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Russia), and Witold Gombrowicz (Poland).
This class will cultivate not only an understanding of the challenges modernity posed to old
manners of living and fiction-writing, but it will also enhance your knowledge of how
modernists accepted these challenges and re-invented the customs, individuals, and the world
that encompassed them all.
3. Coursework:
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Reading: The most important part of your coursework consists in
completing your readings in a timely manner. You’re expected to come to
class having read the material assigned for a particular day. This
information is available on our class calendar. During our sessions, we will
close-read and analyze crucial passages with particular attention to an
author’s style, use of language, content and form. We will also
comparatively discuss each author’s individual approach to and variations
on main elements of fiction (i.e., character, setting, plot, conflict, symbol,
and narrative point of view). Owing to these reading practices, you will have
developed a more sophisticated language to talk about fiction by the end of
this semester. In addition, you will come to appreciate how the formal,
stylistic, and linguistic innovations modernists introduced emerged from
socio-historical conditions and participated in the making of culture in their
respective countries.
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Discussion: Though a lecture course, EGL 112 requires you to be an active
participant in class discussions. The main point of discussion is to have a
wide range of perspectives on a certain subject. Raising productive
questions in class is at least as important as responding to those raised by
others. You’re encouraged to voice your ideas, even if they conflict with the
ideas of others. The only requirement is that you do so in a respectful and
intellectual manner. Participation in class discussions will allow you to
cultivate both nuanced and clear ideas, and public speaking skills.
4. Exams, Quizzes, Paper and Oral Presentation:
There will be two major exams – one midterm and a final – for this course. For each
exam, you will be responsible for the material we have covered up to that point. This
means that, in the final exam, you will be responsible for an entire semester of
readings. If you miss an exam, be prepared to procure a documented excuse, so that
you may be entitled to a makeup exam.
Quizzes will be given biweekly. They are intended to keep you on track with
readings and help diagnose problems you may be having with interpretation and
analysis of the texts we have covered. In addition, the contribution of their average in
your final grade (%10) aims to reward students who do their readings in a timely
manner.
You will have composed a textual or comparative analysis paper of about 5 pages
by the time you take the final exam. It is intended to demonstrate that, upon taking
this course, you are capable of:
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formulating a concise thesis on your chosen texts without falling back on plot
summary;
exploring this thesis in depth by making close references to the main texts, as
well as to the work of literary critics who have written on the subject;
conveying your ideas clearly by using standardized English prose;
and providing a convincing, focused, and well-organized argument,
demonstrating audience awareness.
In class, we will go over MLA (Modern Language Association) guidelines to ensure
your papers meet a scholarly standard. Peer-review in class or on BB will become an
important component of your revision process. In addition, you’ll receive feedback
from your instructor to polish your final draft.
Incompletes are not allowed; refrain from asking for one.
Oral Presentation: Each student will give a ten-minute oral presentation in class,
followed by a 5 minute Q/A session. Students will be given a list of presentation
topics to choose from in the beginning of the semester. These topics will supplement
our readings in class. Students will do some research on the given subject – be it the
historical and geographical context that conditioned literary production, an author’s
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biography, emergent literary and artistic movements, wars, and important scientific
and technological developments that facilitated a change in manners of living, etc. –
and share their findings with their peers. Here are a couple of basic guidelines about
the delivery of your presentation:
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The delivery of the presentation should be clear and emphasize the close
bonds between its subject matter and that day’s assigned reading.
Presenters may utilize digital media and/or bring handouts to enable their
audience to follow the information they are sharing.
The research material and quotations included in the presentation should be
signaled, acknowledged, and transparent, allowing the audience to pursue
their own research if they are interested.
The presenters should acknowledge the audience at hand and reflect an
awareness of interactive learning context.
The audience should not have any difficulties hearing, connecting with, and
understanding the material presented.
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We will collect and share written/digital versions of your presentations on the BB
website for our class, so that you may utilize these resources as you study for exams
and/or write your papers.
The following is the weight-list of the items that will determine your final grade for
this course at the end of the semester:
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Midterm
Final
Paper
Quizzes
Presentation
%20
%35
%25
%10
%10
5. Academic Integrity:
If you have someone else write your paper, submit a paper you’ve written for another
course, or take another’s work without proper credit, you’re in violation of the
academic integrity code set up by Stony Brook University. I will set aside class time
in the beginning of the semester to explain what constitutes plagiarism so that all are
aware of what this term imports. Please be aware that plagiarism and other forms of
dishonesty can result in expulsion from the university.
6. Class Policies:
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Courtesy is a MUST – please put your cell phones in silent mode when the
class is in session. Also do not engage in distracting behavior such as reading
newspapers, playing games, listening to music, and surfing the internet. Be
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respectful when you express your ideas and opinions in class discussions; treat
others as you wish to be treated.
No tardies – if you arrive 10 minutes after the class starts, you should expect
to have this recorded as half an absence.
More than four absences without documented excuse may lead you to fail.
7. Blackboard:
We will use the Blackboard website for SBU – http://blacboard.stonybrook.edu –
very actively throughout the semester. Please update your contact information
A.S.A.P. and familiarize yourself with the way BB functions for an efficient and
reliable communication.
BB is also the medium through which you will have access to some of the readings
required for this course. Short works – stories and essays – we will read this semester,
as well as critical resources, will be uploaded on BB for you to print and study them.
8. If you have a disability:
If you have a physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability that may impact
your coursework, please contact Disability Support Services, ECC (Educational
Communications Center) Building, Room 128, (631) 632-6748. They will determine
with you what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and
documentation is confidential. Students requiring emergency evaluation are
encouraged to discuss their needs with their professors and Disability Support
Services. For procedures and information see www.ehs.sunysb.edu/fire/disabilities.
Reading List:
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James Joyce: “The Dead” from Dubliners (1914) – Ireland (PDF)
Franz Kafka: Metamorphosis (1915) – Austria (PDF)
Virginia Woolf: “The New Dress” (1924) – England (PDF)
Ernest Hemingway: “Hills Like White Elephants” (1927) – U.S. (PDF)
Sadeq Hedayat: The Blind Owl (1937) – Iran (Required Textbook)
Witold Gombrowicz: Ferdydurke (1937) – Poland (Required Textbook)
William Faulkner: “Barn Burning” (1939) – U.S. (PDF)
Albert Camus: The Stranger (1942) – France (Required Textbook)
Alexander Solzhenitsyn: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962) –
Russia (Required Textbook)
Can Themba: “The Suit” – South Africa (PDF)
Orhan Pamuk: “Huzun” – Turkey (PDF)