Read along with my students!
Texts
Honoré de Balzac, Père Goriot
Frank Norris, McTeague
Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent
Edward Lewis Wallant, The Pawnbroker
Romain Gary, The Life Before Us
Yukio Mishima, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
Gabriel Garcia Márquez, Collected Novellas
Schedule
Week One
January 15, Introduction
January 17, Père Goriot, Chapter 1 (1-82)
Week Two
January 22, Père Goriot, Chapter 2 (83-149)
January 24, Père Goriot, Chapter 3 (150-206)
Week Three
January 29, Père Goriot, Chapter 4 (207-263)
January 31, McTeague, Chapters 1-6 (1-85)
Week Four
February 5, McTeague, Chapters 7-9 (86-142)
February 7, McTeague, Chapters 10-12 (143-201)
Week Five
February 12, McTeague, Chapters 13-18 (202-276)
February 14, McTeague, Chapters 19-22 (277-347)
Week Six
February 19, The Secret Agent, Chapters 1-4 (3-67)
February 21, The Secret Agent, Chapters 5-7 (68-125)
Week Seven
February 26, The Secret Agent, Chapters 8-10 (126-188)
February 28, The Secret Agent, Chapters 11-13 (189-255)
Week Eight
March 4, Day of Rest
March 6, The Life Before Us, 1-63 First Paper Due
Week Nine
March 11, The Life Before Us, 64-120
March 13, The Life Before Us, 121-182
Spring Break
Week Ten
March 25, The Pawnbroker, Chapters 1-5 (3-72)
March 27, The Pawnbroker, Chapters 6-13 (73-138)
Week Eleven
April 1, The Pawnbroker, Chapters 14-20 (139-203)
April 3, The Pawnbroker, Chapters 21-28 (204-279)
Week 12
April 8, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, 3-61
April 10, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, 62-106
Week 13
April 15, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, 107-181
April 17, No One Writes to the Colonel
Week 14
April 22, Chronicle of a Death Foretold
April 24, Day of Rest
Honoré de Balzac, Père Goriot
Frank Norris, McTeague
Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent
Edward Lewis Wallant, The Pawnbroker
Romain Gary, The Life Before Us
Yukio Mishima, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
Gabriel Garcia Márquez, Collected Novellas
Schedule
Week One
January 15, Introduction
January 17, Père Goriot, Chapter 1 (1-82)
Week Two
January 22, Père Goriot, Chapter 2 (83-149)
January 24, Père Goriot, Chapter 3 (150-206)
Week Three
January 29, Père Goriot, Chapter 4 (207-263)
January 31, McTeague, Chapters 1-6 (1-85)
Week Four
February 5, McTeague, Chapters 7-9 (86-142)
February 7, McTeague, Chapters 10-12 (143-201)
Week Five
February 12, McTeague, Chapters 13-18 (202-276)
February 14, McTeague, Chapters 19-22 (277-347)
Week Six
February 19, The Secret Agent, Chapters 1-4 (3-67)
February 21, The Secret Agent, Chapters 5-7 (68-125)
Week Seven
February 26, The Secret Agent, Chapters 8-10 (126-188)
February 28, The Secret Agent, Chapters 11-13 (189-255)
Week Eight
March 4, Day of Rest
March 6, The Life Before Us, 1-63 First Paper Due
Week Nine
March 11, The Life Before Us, 64-120
March 13, The Life Before Us, 121-182
Spring Break
Week Ten
March 25, The Pawnbroker, Chapters 1-5 (3-72)
March 27, The Pawnbroker, Chapters 6-13 (73-138)
Week Eleven
April 1, The Pawnbroker, Chapters 14-20 (139-203)
April 3, The Pawnbroker, Chapters 21-28 (204-279)
Week 12
April 8, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, 3-61
April 10, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, 62-106
Week 13
April 15, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, 107-181
April 17, No One Writes to the Colonel
Week 14
April 22, Chronicle of a Death Foretold
April 24, Day of Rest
posted by GeoX, one of the GeoX boys. at 8:08 PM
Whoa! Did you make up that course yourself? It looks like it's got all your favourite stuff. What's the overarching theme?
- SK
Well, it's a section of Great Books II, which entails everything past 1700. Obviously, trying to do a one semester survey of the past three hundred years of world literature isn't exactly feasible, so all you can do is choose a more or less arbitrary selection. It's meant to include multiple centuries and multiple cultures, but those are about the only guidelines. There isn't much of a theme; I suppose in a general sense, "the ways people react to and are shaped by their social milieus" might do it.
It's pretty cool that you get to make up your own curriculum. At least you can be enthusiastic in leading the discussion, hopefully inspiring at least a couple of students.
My only problem with this kind of course is that it kind of encourages people to view literature in an unsystematic manner. Like how some people read one thing by Dumas, and one thing by Hemingway, and one thing by Dante, and one thing by Murakami, and never get any kind of coherent understanding of how literature developed. But I guess that's what the later courses are for...
- SK
Outstanding course load @ 8 in the morning. Yow. A little bit like throwing a full plate at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Had a prof one time that confessed she always assigned more work in a semester than was humanly possible to read and write coherently about. Said it brought out the best in her students.
...ok, ok so I don't remember reading any Flan O'Connor so you got me there.