Literature of the diaspora: belonging, estrangement, ambivalence

Catalog description

This course will examine the plural identities revealed in the works of European, Middle Eastern, and North-African writers of Jewish descent, including Italo Svevo, Giorgio Bassani, Marcel Proust, Georges Perec, Walter Benjamin, Imre Kertész, Danilo Kiš, Bruno Schulz, Eva Hoffman, Fernando Pessoa, Albert Memmi, Naïm Kattan, Samir Naqqash, and Lucette Lagnado. Exploring autobiographical writings as well as works of fiction, we will address the complexities of acculturation, the pervasiveness of estrangement, and ambivalence toward Jewishness. We will pay attention not only to content but also to form, examining how, for many of these writers, innovation was a key aspect of self-expression. In addition to the readings, students will undertake writing exercises and assignments, and will be asked to submit their work for class discussion. The course is open to advanced writing students of all backgrounds who wish to deepen their understanding of themselves in relation to the world.