Reading Web Comics

[Note: Much of this information is taken from Scott McCloud’s wonderful book Understanding Comics.]

First: What are comics?

Haifaa El-Mansour, Wadjda

               

Written and directed by Haifaa El-Mansour, Wadjda is the first feature-length film ever made in Saudi Arabia by a female director. 

El-Mansour had more trouble funding this movie than she did making it – although clearly making it was no picnic either, since as a woman in the Saudi culture she is limited as to her public presence.  Thus, she had to do most of her directorial work from inside a van, relaying instructions to those outside.

Global Lit Assignments: Nov 27 - Dec 7

Tuesday-Thursday November 27 and 29: Movie, Wadjda. We'll be watching it in class.

Tuesday December 5: Read/View the following graphic stories/comics:

Anu, by Emily Carroll

His Face All Red, Emily Carroll

Darkness, Bouletcorp

“Bongcheon-Dong Ghost” by Horang (This one is seriously scary!  Feel free to skip it if you think it might be too much for you.)

Ghost in Masung Tunnel, by Horang

Thursday December 7: Final Exam, 2:45 p.m. In the classroom. For those of you writing the paper, the paper is due by this point as well, though you should feel free to email it to me at Kelly.Jennings@uafs.edu

Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, “Wedding at the Cross”

In “Wedding at the Cross,” Ngugi, who himself comes from a colonized country (Kenya, colonized by the British, among others), writes about a young man and a young woman, Wariuki and Miriamu.

Colonialism / Post-Colonialism

A definition of colonialism (From this site: Literary Terms and Definitions.) 

Leslie Marmon Silko, “Yellow Woman”

This is a post-modern as well as a post-colonial story. That is to say, it mixes both Western and Native American traditions, ancient and modern world views, as well as placing a tale of a colonized culture into a Post-colonial world.

Global Lit Assignment November 21 - Dec 5

Tuesday November 21: “Yellow Woman,” 1684-1690; “Wedding at the Cross,” 1692 -1702

Tuesday-Thursday November 27 and 29: Movie, Wadja. We'll be watching it in class.

Beckett, Krapp's Last Tape

Samuel Beckett / The Absurd

The Absurd is a particular subset of Modernist writing. 

Absurdist writers, feeling that the world is incapable of being deciphered or comprehended, try to cause in their audience or readers the pointlessness and confusion they believe everyone should feel upon recognizing the absurd nature of existence. 

Modernism

The Modernist Era begins around 1914 and ends around 1950.  Main influences include

Kafka

Kafka, “The Hunger Artist”

Franz Kafka (who was highly influenced by Freud and said so in his journals) wrote in a style known (now) as Magical Realism.  

Global Lit: Tolstoy's Folk Tales

Leo Tolstoy, who lived and worked in Russia during the Enlightenment, Romantic, Realist, and Naturalist periods (even a bit into the Modernist era), is one of the most influential writers in the world. 

Global Lit Assignments: November 9 through Nov 29

Thursday November 9 Tolstoy, "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" and "Three Questions"

Global Lit: Blake, Tennyson, Browning

William Blake

William Blake is an early Romantic poet.

Romantics

Romantics  are reacting to the Enlightenment thinkers in Europe and England – you’ll remember that the Enlightenment were those 18^th Century philosophers and scholars who believe, more or less, in the power of human reason to fix the world; who believe, that is,

Global Lit: Assignments November 2 - November 16

Thursday November 2: William Blake, 582-587; Tennyson, 644 - 645; Elizabeth Barrett Browning: "The Musical Instrument."

Candide

Voltaire, Candide

Voltaire wrote Candide in 1759, during the Enlightenment Era.

Voltaire – philosopher, skeptic, poet, playwright, satirist – was infamous in his time, persecuted and prosecuted, exiled from France, jailed in the Bastille, reviled and beloved. 

Though religious, he had real issues with many parts of the Christian bible, and particularly with the ways in which that text was interpreted and used in the world; and he had similar issues with other religions. 

Alexander Pope, Essay on Man

Alexander Pope: Essay on Man (1733-744)

Though it was written during the Enlightenment, Alexander Pope’s attempt to address the imperfect state of the world is in its essence not an Enlightenment work.

The Enlightenment is a period which runs (broadly speaking) from somewhere around 1650 to somewhere around 1800 in Europe, England, and America. It is characterized by writers, philosophers, and political activists (such as – for instance – Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Benjamin Franklin) who reject traditional ways of thinking about knowledge, authority, religion, literature, and the social order.  Voltaire is one of the main figures in the Enlightenment, and everyone recognized his influence even at the time.

ENGL 2013 Global Lit Assignments for October 19 - November 7

Thursday October 19: Optional Draft of Paper is due -- class will not meet. Work on paper, and turn in draft to me by 4:00 p.m. Bring the paper to my office, Vines 139, or email it to me at Kelly.Jennings@uafs.edu

ENGL 2013: Tang Poetry

Tang Poetry: 600-900AD

The Tang Dynasty a period of great wealth and cultural advancement in China. During this period, Chinese poetry reached new heights.

ENGL 2013: Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism follows the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, a prince who lived in India sometime around 500 BCE.  The principle philosophy of Buddha may be summed up as this: All suffering arises from desire; to end suffering, we must, rather than seeking to fulfill our desires, seek to stop desiring; we can stop desiring by recognizing that what we desire is illusion; we can realize this by following the eightfold path.

ENGL 2013: Taoism

Taoism

Tao means, literally, the Way – a common concept in Eastern thought.  In Taoism, the Way of the Universe is flow: the universe is always in motion.  The only thing that always is, Lao Tsu (who is the creator of Tao Te Ching) tells is, is change. 

Ci or T’zu: Compassion.  One of the Three Jewels of Taoist Ethics.  Also translates as love or kindness.  It is the virtue of doing/loving/feeling for others as you would do/love/feel for yourself.

ENGL 2013: Global Lit Assignments for October 10 - October 31

Tuesday October 10: Tang Poetry 1309-1321

Thursday October 12: Study Day: Class won't meet

Tuesday October 17: Midterm

Thursday October 19: Optional Draft of Paper is due -- class will not meet. Work on paper, and turn in draft to me by 4:00 p.m.

Tuesday October 24: Alexander Pope, Essay on Man Vol. 2 (This is difficult to read -- give yourself some time)

Thursday October 26: Candide, Vol 2 pp 100-136

Tuesday October 31: Finish Candide

Marie de France

Marie de France

Marie wrote in Norman French, and almost certainly lived in England during the 12^th Century.

New Testament Selections

Luke

Luke is probably written fairly late -- estimated dates of composition range from 80 to mid-first century; it may, however, be even later, into the second century, which would make it the latest written of all the gospels. 

Assignments October 3 - 17

Tuesday October 3: Selections from the New Testament: Read pages 819-827

Thursday October 5: Marie de France: Read these Lais: Bisclavret, Yonec , and Le Fresne

Tuesday October 10: Tang Poetry 1309-1321

Thursday October 12: Study Day: Class won't meet

Tuesday October 17: Midterm

ENGL 2013: The Analects

Confucius, The Analects

Confucius, like Plato and Socrates, was a real person. He lived in the 6^th Century BC, more or less from 550-470 BC, in NE China. This was just after the Zhou Dynasty collapsed into the Warring States period. Confucius lived, in other words, in interesting (which is to say, unstable) times.

Chinese Poetry

As we will note when we reach Confucius and The Analects, poetry has enormous influence in Chinese culture: particularly, a body of work known as The Classic of Chinese Poetry.

ENGL 2013 Assignments Sept 26 - Oct 17

Tuesday Sept 26: Chinese Poetry 759-763

ENGL 2013: The Bhagavad-Gita

Bhagavad-Gita

The Bhagavad-Gita is a very small part of the immense Hindu epic the Mahabharata. (Basically an epic about a war of succession between two inter-related royal families in India.)

ENGL 2013: Plato, The Symposium

Plato, The Symposium

A little background: Plato is a student of Socrates – one of the main speakers here. In all of the dialogues Plato wrote, he uses Socrates as his main speaker.

Global Lit Assignments September 21 - October 17

Thursday September 21: Read The Bhagavad-Gita 727-739.

Tuesday Sept 26: Chinese Poetry 759-763

Global Lit Assignments from Thursday Sept 14 through Thursday October 3

Tuesday September 19: Read  Plato's Symposium -- the text is online from Socrates's spech onward. Alternative link to text of the Symposium

Thursday September 21: Read The Bhagavad-Gita 727-739.

Global Lit: Class Notes: The Bible

The Bible: Introductory Notes:

The Canon of the Tanakh, or the Jewish Bible, is created, probably in reaction to the Christian incursion in the first century, sometime around 70 A.D.

Global Lit Enuma Elish and Gilgamesh

Enuma Elish: The Babylonian Creation Myth

Enuma Elish is an ancient Babylonian text (18^th century BC / 1100 BC) which deals with the creation of the world, a war between the Gods, and the creation of humanity.

Global Lit Class Notes Creation Myths and Epics

Creation Stories / Epics

We’re going to be starting with a few creation stories and myths, along with part of an epic (Gilgamesh).

Global Lit Class Notes Introduction

Introduction to Global Literature is a survey class – this is to say, it is a kind of a bus trip through the world’s literature. This is not the best way to learn literature, but it’s a start.

Global Lit: Assignments for August 22-Sept 7

Tuesday, August 22: Introduction

Thursday, August 24: Read Enuma Elish, Vol. I, pp 3-8, 21-24. Take notes. Always take noted on the readings. There will be a quiz every day, and you can use any notes you take on this quiz. Take them in a separate notebook, not in the book -- you won't be allowed to use the book on the quiz.

Tuesday, August 29: Read Gilgamesh, Vol. I, pp 38-47, 62-88.

Thursday, August 31: Read Genesis, 89-103

Tuesday, September 5: Genesis, 103-117

Thursday, Sept 7: Start Plato's Symposium -- the text is online.

Tuesday September 12: Finish the Symposium

ENGL 2013: Global Lit Syllabus

General Syllabus

Course Title INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL LITERATURE                     

Course Code  ENGL    2013                                                   Credit Hours    3       

            Prefix    Number                                                          Lecture Hours   3      

                                                                                                            Lab Hours      0         

                                                                                                            Contact Hours   3_   

Instructor: Dr. Kelly Jennings

Office: Vines 139

Phone: 788-7907

Email: Kelly.Jennings@uafs.edu