COLI 110: Fall Voltaire, Candide. reading texts. which cover. Boccacio, and. World Literature 1

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COLI 110: World Literature 1 Aesthetic (Re)creations and Imaginary Worlds: the Art(ifice) of the Literary Fall

Voltaire, Candide Pleasing things: finding a large number of tales that one has not read before.

L'Atmosphere: Météorologie Populaire) Course Description In this class we will be reading texts which cover the

This general introductory course will consist of seminal texts of world literature, including both classical

from non-western traditions (a collection of The Thousand and One Nights, The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon).

epochs, continents and national traditions) will provide an opportunity to examine why and how we read.

judgments; invention and reality, poetics and politics, among many others.

literary translation and the shaping of reception as well as echoes of these timeless texts in contemporary

1 COLI 110: World Literature 1 Aesthetic (Re)creations and Imaginary Worlds: the Art(ifice) of the Literary Fall 2014 If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others? Voltaire, Candide Pleasing things: finding a large number of tales that one has not read before. Sei Shōnagon, The Pillow Book T/R 08:300 am -09:55 am, SW 313 Instructor: Anastasiya Lyubas alyubas1@binghamton.edu (When ing, please put COLI 110 in the subject line) Office: TBA Office Hours: TBA (Camille Flammarion, L'Atmosphere: Météorologie Populaire) Course Description In this class we will be reading texts which cover the period from ancient times to the epoch of Enlightenment. This general introductory course will consist of seminal texts of world literature, including both classical Western texts (Metamorphoses or Thee Golden Ass by Apuleius, Decameron by Boccacio, Candide by Voltaire) and texts from non-western traditions (a collection of The Thousand and One Nights, The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon). A variety of f genres (fairy tales, novellas, novels) and perspectives (writings by men and women spanning various epochs, continents and national traditions) will provide an opportunity to examine why and how we read. We will explore the topics of identity and its transformation; magic and trickery; feelings and aesthetic judgments; invention and reality, poetics and politics, among many others. The questions of world literature, national literatures, canons, literary histories, alternative narratives, literary translation and the shaping of reception as well as echoes of these timeless texts in contemporary culture will also be considered. You can also expect to learn how to analyze a literary text according to its formal criteria, how to appreciate a variety of sensibilities and expressions different from your own, and how to write qualityy academic prose in response to the texts that have become sources of unceasing readings, interpretations, creativity and inspiration for people all over the globe from the times long past and to date.

2 Required Texts: Apuleius. The Golden Ass. Trans. Sarah Ruden. Yale University Press. ISBN-13: The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. Trans. Meredith McKinney. Penguin Classics. ISBN-13: Voltaire. Candide or Optimism. Trans. Theo Cuffe, illustr. Chris Ware, intro Michael Wood. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.ISBN-13: Optional texts (selections from these texts, as well as other essays will be provided on Bb): The Thousand and One Nights. Giovanni Boccacio. Decameron. Students with Disabilities If you are a student with a disability and wish to request academic accommodations, please notify the instructor by the second week of class. You are also encouraged to contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at Their office is located in UU-119. You may go to their website for more information (www2.binghamton.edu/ssd). Course Requirements This course fulfills both C - Composition and H Humanities requirements for the General Education program. H-Humanities Courses enhance students' understanding of human experience through the study of literature or philosophy. C courses require at least 20 pages of expository writing. You should be able to: 1. Demonstrate understanding of course content through formal academic writing 2. Construct effective prose that demonstrates critical thinking and advances sound conclusions, appropriate to the course and discipline, and 3. Demonstrate the ability to revise and improve your writing in both form and content. Academic Honesty Please adhere to the Academic Integrity and Honesty Rules of the university. All papers are to be turned through Turnitin via Blackboard. This does not apply to response papers and occasional quizzes and inclass assignments. Turnitin will detect plagiarism. If you plagiarize, it will lead to serious consequences s from failing the course to being expelled from the university based upon the circumstance. If you are unsure at any point of writing your papers whether your properly cited your sources and whether something may be considered plagiarism, please ask. For further information please refer to University Bulletin Section Academic Policies and Procedures-All Students You may also refer to the Library Guide as to what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it.

3 Attendance, Lateness and Participation To get most out of the readings and the course, you are expected to attend the sessions, be on time and participate. The participation will count to 20% of your grade. It will include participation in class (short in-class writing assignments, written paragraphs for the discussion questions for each session (available on BB), and occasional quizzes)-18%, and also attendance of office hours-2%. If you are late for class, your participation grade for that session will be marked down. You are allowed two absences; starting with the third absence, your grade will be marked down by half (A will become A- and so on.) Writing You will be required to write two essays (one midterm essay of 4-5 pages, and a final paper of 6-7 pages) and five 2-page response papers. Two essays will count for 60% of the grade. Response papers will count for 20% of the grade. The essays will be revised and rewritten after consultation with instructor. The pages of rewrite do not count towards the total of 20 pages. You will be making two rewrites for each essay: one rewrite will be done after you submit a draft for each paper and should result in the final versions of midterm and final paper respectively; the second rewrite is revision after you submitted midterm and final papers. The expectation is that most formal papers will be revised in response to feedback from the instructor. Response papers, which are a more informal writing assignment, do not need to be revised. You will also participate in peer review of one another s work. All the papers are to be formatted according to the MLA guide (also available at Bartle Library Research Help Desk): Helpful Citation Resources: Grading A A B B B C C C D Less than 70 Attendance and Participation -20% (18% in-class and h/a; 2%-office hours) Five 2-page response papers 20% Two papers-60%: Midterm paper draft (15% ) + Midterm paper and revision-(15%)= 30% Final paper draft-(15%) + Final paper and revision (15%)= 30% Tentative Class Schedule (A separate schedule of all writing assignments available on BB) The instructor has the right to revise any part of the syllabus. All the changes will be announced in class and on Blackboard and included in the revised version of the syllabus. You have to keep track of any changes. Week 1: Tuesday, September 2 What is literature? What is interpretation? What is World Literature/ World Literatures?

4 1. GW Goethe On World Literature, pp.9-15 (BB) 2. Excerpts from What is World Literature?-essay by David Damrosch, pp (BB) Writing: In-class Writing Assignment Thursday, September 4 Familiar/ (un-) (de-)familiar or the magic of literature: What is the point of stuff that isn t real? 1. Viktor Shklovsky Art as Technique, pp (BB) 2. Translator s Preface by Sarah Ruden, pp.ix-xvi; and Book 1, pp.1-21, from The Golden Ass by Apuleius Writing: Discussion questions 1 Week2: The Golden Ass Tuesday, September 9 Literary imitation/transformation/parody: how to tell a good story in style Books 2& 3 from The Golden Ass by Apuleius, pp Writing: Discussion questions 2 Thursday, September 11 Illusions/allusions/myths. Literary gods/goddesses from the machine: a ride through literary amusement park Books 4&5 from The Golden Ass by Apuleius, pp Writing: Discussion questions 3 Week3: The Golden Ass Tuesday, September 16 Literary gimmicks: art and craft, or the art and artifice of life Books 6&7 from The Golden Ass by Apuleius, pp Writing: Discussion questions 4 Thursday, September 18 The Wheel of Fortune and the Journey of Escape: tricky points of view in the Stunt Novel Books 8-9 from The Golden Ass by Apuleius, pp Writing: Response paper 1 (2 pages) Week 4: The Golden Ass Tuesday, September 23 Communication/Excommunication. Lawmaking and Love making: rites of passage and the right to pass

5 Books from The Golden Ass by Apuleius, pp Writing: Discussion questions 5 Thursday, September 25-no class (Rosh Hashanah) Week 5: The Thousand and One Nights Tuesday, September 30 Translation and its Discontents: Charting Imaginative Geographies, or Orient meets Occident 1. Jorge Luis Borges The Translators of The Thousand and One Nights, pp (BB) 2. Introduction to Edward Said s Orientalism, pp.1-9 (BB) 3. Prologue( the story of King Shahrayar and Shahrazad, His Vizier s Daughter), pp (BB) Writing: Discussion questions 6 Thursday, October 2 Not a Disneyland: Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor, Scooby-Doo: What You Don t Know about The Thousand and One Nights 1. The Story of the Fisherman and the Demon, pp (BB) 2. The Story of the Merchant and the Demon, pp (BB) Writing: Response paper 2 (2 pages) Week 6:The Thousand and One Nights Tuesday, October 7 A Murder mystery and a Suspense thriller: Elements of crime fiction in the Tale of the Murdered Young Woman The Story of Three Apples, pp (BB) Writing: Discussion questions 7 Thursday, October 9 Embedded Narration, Dramatic Visualization, Foreshadowing, or finding the apple of one s eye The Story of Three Apples, pp (BB) Writing: MIDTERM PAPER DRAFT DUE (4-5 pages) Week 7:The Pillow Book Tuesday, October 14 Miscellanea or a Face book Collection Sections 1-17 from The Pillow Book

6 Writing: Discussion questions 8 Thursday, October 16 Things that Cannot Be Compared, or the Question of Taste and Judgment 1) Sections from The Pillow Book 2) Frank Sibley Aesthetic Concepts (BB) Writing: Response paper 3 (2 pages) Week 8: The Pillow Book Tuesday, October 21 Nature and Culture: Experience, Subjectivity and the Lyric Sections from The Pillow Book Writing: Discussion questions 9 Thursday, October 23 Class, Gender, Identity: Asymmetries and Hierarchies Sections from The Pillow Book Writing: MIDTERM PAPER DUE Week 9: The Pillow Book Tuesday, October 28 On Our Aesthetic Categories, or Why We Watch YouTube Videos of Babies and Pets Sections from The Pillow Book Writing: Discussion questions 10 Thursday, October 30 Nearness/ Distance, or Things Worth Seeing Sections from The Pillow Book Writing: Response paper 4 Week 10: The Pillow Book Tuesday, November 4 Enchantment, Pleasure, or Why Read Stuff from So Long Ago Sections from The Pillow Book Writing: Discussion questions 11 Thursday, November 6 Reading/ Writing/ Publishing/ Reception

7 Sections from The Pillow Book Writing: In-class writing assignment Week 11:The Decameron Tuesday, November 11 Escapes and Escapades, or It doesn t escape us why we never miss a chance to tell, listen or read a good story 1. Walter Benjamin The Storyteller, pp from The Illuminations (BB) 2. Preface to the Decameron, pp. 1-3 (BB) Writing: Discussion questions 12 Thursday, November 13 Confessions and Conversions: virtuous vices and vicious virtues Introduction; Day 1, First Story, Second Story, pp (BB) Writing: In-class writing assignment Week 12: The Decameron Tuesday, November 18 Flights of Fancy to One s Heart Desire: an exquisite collection of Deadly Sins Readings Day 1, Tales 3-10, conclusion, pp (BB) Writing: Discussion questions 13 Thursday, November 20 Bawdy Tales: Talk of Love, Sex and Transgression Day 3, Tale 10; Day 4, Tale 2; Day 5, Tales 9& 10, Author s Conclusion; pp , , , (BB) Writing: Response paper 5 Week 13: Candide Tuesday, November 25 The Courage to Use One s Own Understanding, or Nothing but Freedom 1. Kant What is Enlightenment? (BB) 2. Video on Candide from the course Invitation to World Literature by David Damrosch and others. Available at: (30 mins) Writing: Discussion questions 14 Thursday, November 27 -no class (Thanksgiving) Week 14: Candide

8 Tuesday, December 2 Meet the Hero of Our Time, or Optimism and its Discontents Candide, Chapters I- XI, pp.7-38 Writing: Discussion questions 15 Thursday, December 4 In Quest of a Utopia: Where can it be- this land of Eldorado? Candide, Chapters XII-XVIII, pp Writing: FINAL PAPER DRAFT DUE Week 15: Candide Tuesday, December 9 Philosophy and Foolery: Mapping Picaresque Geographies Candide, Chapters XIX-XXIV, pp Writing: Discussion questions 16 Thursday, December 11 From Edenic Paradise to One s Own Cultivated Garden, or can we find the best of all possible worlds? Candide, Chapters XXV- XXX, pp Writing: Peer-review of final paper drafts Week 16 (finals week- no classes): Thursday, December 18-FINAL PAPER DUE

World Literature II (COLI 111) Alienation, Conformity, Identity. Instructor: Rania Said

Said, 1 World Literature II (COLI 111) Alienation, Conformity, Identity Instructor: Rania Said Tuesday and Thursday 8:30-9:55_Nelson A. Rockefeller Center 203 Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10:05-11:10