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SYLLABUS

COURSE NAME World Literature II (after 1660)

CODE ENG-2206

CLASS MEETING TIME: from 1:00 pm (Tuesday and Friday), at

402/D7 WORTH 3 credits

PREREQUISITE ENG 1102

INSTRUCTOR Le Nguyen Long

Phone number: 0903466065
Email: [email protected] (preferred);
[email protected]; [email protected]

COURSE OBJECTIVES
• To introduce students to various masterpieces of world literature

• To examine literary works that have become the cornerstones of the world’s major
literary traditions
• To enrich students’ cultural understanding by bringing them into contact with great
literary works created in different socio-cultural contexts.
• To improve skills of reading, presentation, and writing.

STUDENT EVALUATION

Attendance 10%
Assignments (at-home reading task) 20%
Presentation/Participation 25%
Midterm 20%
Final Exam 25%

GRADING SCALE
Grade Description Credit Grade points per hour of credit A (90-100) Excellent Yes 4 B (80-
below 90) Above Average Yes 3 C (70-below 80) Average Yes 2 D (60-below 70) Below
Average Yes 1 F (below 60) Failure No 0 FA Failure due to excessive absences No 0 INC
Incomplete No 0 NG No Grade Reported No 0 P Pass Yes 0
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REQUIRED TEXTS
 • Puchner, Martin, gen. ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 4th ed. Vol. D,
E, & F. New York: Norton, 2018. Print.

• Supplementary readings.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

• Introduction to the syllabus

Session 1
(Tue, Jul 2)
• Introduction to the textbook

• Creation of presentation groups

• The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas

Session 2
(Fri, Jul 5)
René Descartes (1595-1650): The Discourse on Method
Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond D’Alembert: The
Encyclopédie Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790): “Letter to
Joseph Priestley” Jonathan Swift (1667-1745): Gulliver’s
Travels

• Literatures of Early Modern East Asia

Session 3
(Tue, Jul 9)
Japan: Matsuo Basho (1644-1694): The Narrow Road to the
Deep North
China: Luo Guanzhong (14th century): Three Kingdoms
(supplemental reading)
China: Cao Xueqin (ca. 1715-1763): The Story of the Stone
Vietnam: Đặng Trần Côn (ca. 1710-ca. 1745) – Phan Huy Ích
(1749-1822): The Song of a Soldier’s Wife (Cung oán ngâm
khúc) (supplemental reading)

• Revolutions and Romanticism in the West

Session 4
(Fri, Jul 12)
US Declaration of Independence
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): Confessions
Frederick Douglass (1818?-1895): Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

• 19th-Century Realism across the Globe

Session 5
(Tue, Jul 16)
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881): Notes from Underground Guy
de Maupassant (1850-1893): “In the Moonlight” (supplemental
reading)
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904): “The Lady with the Dog”

Session 6
• Literature and the Transformation of the West in the late
(Fri, Jul 19)
19th Century and the Early 20th Century
 Joseph Conrad (1857-1924): Heart of Darkness

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Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935): “The Yellow Wall-
Paper” (supplemental reading)
Franz Kafka (1883-1924): The Metamorphosis

• Midterm Exam
Session 7
(Tue, Jul 23)

Session 8
• Experiments and Innovations in the Early 20th-
(Fri, Jul 26)
Century Western Literature and Arts
Marcel Proust (1871-1922): Swann’s Way
Tristan Tzara (1896-1963): “Dada Manifesto 1918”
André Breton (1896-1966): “Manifesto of Surrealism”
William Faulkner (1897-1962): The Sound and the Fury
(supplemental reading)

Session 9
• The Modern Seen from the Non-Western World in the
(Tue, Jul 30)
Early 20th-Century
India: Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941): “Punishment”
China: Chen Duxiu (1879-1942): “On Literary Revolution”
Argentina: Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1989): “The Library of
Babel” Vietnam: Nam Cao (1915-1951): “An Unworthy Life”
(supplemental reading)

Session 10
• Postcolonial Literatures in the Second Half of the 20th Century
(Fri, Aug 2)
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1928-2014): “Death Constant Beyond
Love”
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o (1938-): “Wedding at the Cross”
Tran Vu (1962-): “The House Behind the Temple of
Literature” (supplemental reading)
Nguyen Mong Giac (1940-2012): “The Slope of Life”
(supplemental reading)

Session 11
• The Era of Post-Cold War and Globalization in the Late 20th
(Tue, Aug 6)
Century and Early 21st-Century
Nguyen Huy Thiep (1950-2021): “The General Retires”
Andrew Lam (1964): “Grandma’s Tales” (supplemental
reading) Doreen Baingana (1966-): “Tropical Fish”
(supplemental reading)
 • Final Exam
Session 12
(Fri, Aug 9)

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ABSENCES: The following is the official policy of Troy State University as written in the
Undergraduate Bulletin.
“In registering for classes at the University, undergraduate students accept responsibility
for attending scheduled class meetings, completing assignments on time, and contributing to
class discussions and the exploration of ideas.
“A student will be excused if he/she has been absent from a class by reason of
circumstances beyond his/her control or if the student has been required to attend an activity
sponsored by the University. Faculty members who sponsor activities that require class absences
must send a list of student names to each faculty member concerned at least three days before the
scheduled absence.
“Faculty members may levy academic penalties upon unexcused absences; however, such
penalties for unexcused absences will be a part of each course syllabus and will be distributed to
each class at the beginning of each term, a copy filed in the departmental office.”
For all sections, each student is to be in class and prepared for class each scheduled class
day. A student whose absence is not warranted by an official excuse or by a doctor’s written
statement will receive a grade of zero for work due in class and for all work done in class on the
day of the absence.

Your attendance and participation in class are essential for a complete learning experience. The
type of learning that takes place between you, your instructor, and your classmates cannot be
acquired on an individual basis. This class meets only 1 session per week, and much information
must be covered to help you maximize your potential for success at Troy University and in life
after the University. Therefore, IF YOU MISS MORE THAN TWO SESSIONS—
EXCUSED OR UNEXCUSED—YOU WILL RECEIVE A FAILING GRADE FOR THE
COURSE.

INCOMPLETE WORK: A student who has not prepared the entire class assignment for a
given day will receive a grade of zero for class work on that day.

LATE WORK: Only those students who have been excused from class may hand in work late,
and they must hand in all assigned work within one week from the last day of the excused
absence.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: Academic dishonesty is not accepted in this course. Cheating on
a map quiz will result in a deduction of 10 points from your overall assessment. Cheating on an
exam or handing in plagiarized materials will result in an automatic failing grade for the course.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: Any student whose disabilities fall within ADA
must inform the instructor at the beginning of the term of any special needs or equipment
necessary to accomplish the requirements for this course.

THIS SYLLABUS IS TENTATIVE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE. The instructor may

make changes if deemed necessary. Changes will be announced in class.
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More details of the course’s policy

(in addition to the policies informed in the syllabus above)

1. This might be a difficult course for you as your majors are of technology and
economics/business rather than of literature, so please adhere to the following points to help
maximize your final score:

1.1. being present on time in (and during) every session. If you miss more than 2 sessions –
excused or unexcused – you will receive a failing grade for the course. The whole attendance
score makes up 10% of your final score. If you miss 1 session without excuse, you will lose 25%
of your attendance score. If you miss 1 session with excuse, you will lose 15% of your
attendance score. If you show up 10-19 minutes late, you will lose 10% of your attendance score.
If you show up 20-29 minutes late, you will lose 20% of your attendance score. If you show up
30 minutes late, you will be counted as missing that session.

1.2. actively participating in discussing and answering questions in the sessions to have
opportunities to get bonus score for your final score.

2. For the task of Presentation: Presenting is a required task for every student. The whole
class will be divided into 9 groups matching up with 9 theme-based sessions. Each group
member needs to pick a sub-topic for her/his own presentation which is constitutive of the
presentation topic assigned to that group so that all of group members’ presentations are working
coherently to create an organized presentation. Each member’s presentation lasts about 15
minutes. Your presentation score is evaluated based on your teamwork in creating a logical
group presentation, your individual presentation, your powerpoint, and your Q&A part. You all
are expected to have oral presentation rather than reading texts. If you just read texts in any
form (cellphone, laptop, paper, etc.), your presentation score cannot be higher than 50 of 100
grading scale. Your final grade will be an F if you miss your presentation score.

2. For the Assignments (at-home reading tasks of each session): I will have questions
prepared for you to answer before the session to check your reading. They will not be too
abstract and hard but instead, they will be focused on specific details of the texts, which means,
you should read the texts carefully. In addition, I can ask you to do certain task to support your
understanding and interpretation of the texts, for example, doing some search to learn about
some specific literary
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terms. I can also ask you to do some other forms of homework to help you improve such specific
skills of writing as how to write an abstract, how to write a literature review for an essay, and
how to write an essay in general.

4. Midterm Exam: Midterm exam will be an in-class handwritten exam (without blue books)
which helps review your readings and writing skills you practice in your homework from the
beginning to the session right before the midterm exam. Your final grade will be an F if you miss
your midterm exam.

5. Final Exam: Final exam will be an in-class typed essay exam in which you are asked to write
(by typing on your laptop) an essay of about 2,000-2,500 words to present your opinion about a
certain topic related to your readings during the course. Your final grade will be an F if you miss
your final exam.