Modern and Contemporary Korean Literature

Catalog description

This course examines major writers, works, and developments in modern and contemporary Korean literature from the early twentieth century to the present. Beginning with the cultural transition at the end of the Choson dynasty, we will consider how social issues such as class, gender, sexuality, race, migration, and the environment factor into literary constructions of the self, community, and nation. The course integrates creative writing workshops to illuminate the process of literary composition and deepen analytical engagement. We will engage numerous theoretical frameworks to explore and interpret Korean literature in a transnational and global context, including (post)colonial criticism, feminist criticism, and ecocriticism. Readings for the course will be in English or in English translation and no prior knowledge of Korea is required. (ASIAN-LL)