http://chss.montclair.edu/english/furr/wl/wlsylf99.html

We will cover these books. They have been ordered from the University Book Store.

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart. Fawcett.

Sembene Ousmane, God's Bits of Wood. Heinemann.

Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Matigari. Heinemann.

Manlio Argueta, One Day of Life. Random House.

Domitila Barrios de Chungara, Let Me Speak! Monthly Review Press.

You should read Achebe, Things Fall Apart, by Friday, September 10.

I will distribute handouts from time to time. These are also required, and you should save them in a file folder.

We will concentrate on literature from Africa and the Americas. These two continents are much in the news today. They are largely neglected in American schools and colleges. And one of every four Americans is of either Latin American or African ancestry, so these continents have a special relationship to the people of the United States as well.

All these novels deal with imperialism and colonialism, and the legacy of imperialism/colonialism which still today define the relationship between the imperialist, industrialized countries of Europe, North America and Japan, and the rest of the world.

The goal of this course is to use the novels to introduce us to some of the problems and questions which pose themselves both to persons in the colonized/imperialized world, and to those of us who live in the colonialist/imperialist world. I have chosen eight "themes" or main ideas, that recur over and over again in many novels of the non-Western world, to pay special attention to.

The novels' historical settings follow a rough chronological order. Slavery, and the beginnings of racism in the West, coincided with, and were caused by, the first great modern expansion of western imperialism, into the Americas. Achebe's Things Fall Apart deals with the coming of British imperialism to the region of present-day Nigeria, about 100 years ago. Sembene's God's Bits of Wood deals with some African workers' response to colonial oppression right after World War II in French West Africa -- what is today Senegal, Gambia, Mali, and Niger. Ngugi's Matigari dramatizes the most important issue of the anti-colonial movements: whether the new, post-colonial society will mimic the West and become an exploitative society in which a few wealthy persons continue to rule the rest of the population, or whether some form of more democratic, more equal society -- some kind of socialism or communism --can be created.

The last two readings turn us towards American imperialism. Argueta's One Day of Life introduces the topic of neo-imperialism -- the continuing domination by the former imperialist power (in this case, the United States) standing behind the ruling elite in a former colonial country, El Salvador, in the 1960s and '70s. Domitila Barrios' Let Me Speak! is the non-fictional voice of a Bolivian working-class woman faced with truly barbaric, brutal exploitation by the domestic ruling class which is, in turn, propped up by the United States government.

Studying these novels, and paying special attention to these themes and, of course, to other themes that you will notice in the novels, will help us to discuss and think about some important questions, such as:

• How successful are these novels as fiction? How can we make these kinds of judgments? What criteria can we use?
• In what ways are the situations faced by the persons in the novels we read "realistic" -- a more-or-less accurate depiction of problems facing millions of citizens of non-Western countries?
• What is the relationship between the imperialist policies of the United States and Western Europe, and the political and moral values these countries' representatives often state as the fundamental values of those countries -- democracy, freedom, capitalism, human rights, independence, equality, and others?
• What is our relationship to the problems posed by imperialism and neo-imperialism, as depicted in these novels?
• What problems do we face in reading and striving to understand novels from countries of which we know little? How similar or different is this from understanding novels about our own society?
• What methods are appropriate for us to try to answer these questions?

The classes will be mainly discussions of the reading rather than lectures. Participation by the whole class in discussions is a must if they are to be interesting and worthwhile. In addition, considerable class time will be spent listening to, and commenting upon and discussing, papers written by the students in the class.

A typical class might be divided this way:

1. (sometimes) Instructor's presentation, comments, suggestions.
2. Group Discussions: I will divide the class into 4-6 groups for discussion purposes. I will provide suggested topics for discussion, together with passages from the books.
3. General class discussion of the topic, passages, and related topics and passages.

This order can be varied.

Attendance will be taken each day. Three unexcused absences will lower the final grade by one grade (e.g. "A" becomes "A-"); five unexcused absences lowers it by one letter (e.g. "A" becomes "B").

If you cannot attend class for whatever reason, I expect you to let me know by email; by phone; or in person before class. If this is impossible, leave a message the same day as the class. If you fail, or forget, to do this, your absence will be "unexcused."

You should email me at FURRG (on our local ALPHA system) or furrg@alpha.montclair.edu (from any Internet Address).

If this is impossible, leave a phone message at 655-7305, on the answering machine.

• SPELL YOUR NAME.
• TELL ME YOU ARE CALLING FOR WORLD LITERATURE, and the DATE you are calling for.

If you are late for class -- after I have taken attendance - - I will count it as an "unexcused" absence unless you remember to tell me, at the end of that same class, that you came late. If you forget to do this, your recorded absence will remain. I do this because lateness disrupts the class and group discussions.

• All books must be read by the date on the syllabus. I will distribute this syllabus by the second week of class. It will give the date discussion of each work will begin.
• A short essay, 3-4 pages in length, will be collected from each student on the day class discussion begins (to be listed on the syllabus). This will guarantee that everyone has read the book, and will make good classroom discussion possible. Everyone gets more out of in-class discussion when everyone has read the book.

Guidelines for the short essay will be distributed in a separate handout. You can also get them here.

You will email your essays to me (Furr), and also to the other members of your discussion group. After the first day of class on each book, you will be able to read the papers of everyone else in the group. This will help you in discussing the book with the other members of your group -- you can compare and contrast approaches to the novels.

• In them you'll be asked to write about one or two passages in the book we are discussing, and to email your assignment both to me (Furr) and to the other members of your discussion group.
• You'll be asked to do this by the previous evening before class so that you can have time the day of the class, but before the class, to access your account and read the assignments from the other members of your group.
• This means every student will have both written on the passages to be discussed, AND read the responses from the other members of his/her group. This greatly enriches the discussions!
• Completion of all examinations.
• Participation in class. You cannot receive a passing grade for class participation if you are absent frequently, no matter what the reason is.

You will use EITHER the campus computer email system, "Alpha",  OR another email address, very extensively in this course. All writing assignments will be submitted on-line. This will permit you to send your assignments to everyone in your group, and for you to read their assignments. This, in turn, will make group discussions much better!

As outlined above, you will have one essay on each book. In addition, you will have two shorter writing assignments per week, which you will send me and your group. These will be assigned in advance, and will center on passages which we will discuss at the following class session.

Therefore, everyone in class will have not only read the book in its entirety by the time we come to discuss it. Every student will have reread, and written on, the specific passages under discussion at each class session. This makes class discussions far more fruitful.

Go here to find out about your Internet requirements -- how to set up your e-mail accounts, and other information. Go here to find out about Streaming Audio for this course.

COMPUTER LABS

Here is the schedule of computer labs and hours.

There will be no mid-term exam. An optional, take-home final will be due at the time and place in the Course Schedule Booklet for this semester.

The final grade for the course will be composed of:

• grades for the short papers;
• grades for the biweekly assignments;
• the grade for class participation
• the final examination;
• less penalty for unexcused absences (if any).

It may be easiest for you to email me at my email address:

    furrg@alpha.montclair.edu

NOTE: If you are mailing me from another 'Alpha' account, you need only type FURRG as the address. It'll reach me a little quicker.

Sometimes you just have a question or comment that can be handled without seeing me personally. If so, email me and I'll get back to you within 24 hours. I check my email at least once a day, usually twice.

But there will be times you want to see me in person.

• My office hours are TF 1-12:15 in DI-325 (Dickson Hall);
• my phone, again, is 655-7305.