World Literature

Catalog description

This iteration of World Literature will focus on literary texts from Nigeria, South Africa, Martinique, and the Czech Republic-in translation. The spread of English as a lingua franca around the world has affected the languages in which literary texts are written. Since independence from various British and European countries, former colonies in Africa and the Caribbean have, however, produced novels, plays, and poems that, while written in English, resonate with the artifacts of indigenous, and diasporic tenets, even as they interrogate the past. Thus, we have the creation of a different type of “World” literature. A similar phenomenon has occurred in former Soviet bloc countries, so that in the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan, for example, writers have asserted their rights to produce literary texts that are reflective of their pre-Soviet cultures and explore the ramifications of political restrictions. Facilitating course discussion is Dr. Brenda Flanagan, a US Cultural ambassador and Fulbright specialist in South Africa and Kazakhstan. She is a prize-winning novelist and playwright, whose most recent book examines writings by the “Mother” of Czech surrealism, Eva Svankmajerova. Satisfies the LTRQ Ways of Knowing requirement. Satisfies the cultural diversity requirement. Satisfies a major (diversity) and minor requirement in English. Prerequisites & Notes Designed for majors and non-majors