In this course, students will read fiction, poetry, and nonfiction written during the twentieth century by writers from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. The selected texts have been chosen to represent the major geo-artistic regions of our world. These works were also picked for their ability to speak to a language, cultural tradition, political moment, or philosophical stance, more often than not all at the same time. This reading list will address a cross-section of concerns and questions that have helped shape– and shock–the twenty-first century world we currently live in, not only in the United States and the West but also across the wider globe. The writers that we will encounter in this course are interested in personal confessions, sexuality, city life, wealth and poverty, revolution, bigotry, honor, nationalism, violence, war, spirituality, justice. Despite being written in a variety of tones and styles, all these books share a predilection for the power of direct speech and of direct experience. They ceaselessly question everyday life. Some approach our reality as fundamentally surreal, while others suggest that the line between the ordinary and the extraordinary is extremely thin and perhaps a lot blurrier than we'd like to believe. Students will be asked to explore the specificity of each work in the historical/political context of its home culture and contemporary conditions, but will also think about these works of literature in terms of how they can inspire us to search for meaning in our world by developing a passion to read.
- Teacher: Andre Naffis-Sahely
- Teacher: David Paddy