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| LGER0080-1 | Studies of English literary modern texts IV
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| Duration : | 30h Th |
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| Number of credits : |
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| Lecturer : | Marc Delrez |
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| Substitute(s) : | Delphine Munos |
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Language(s) of instruction :
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| English language |
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Organisation and examination :
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| Teaching in the second semester |
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Course contents :
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| Course contents
The course will focus on three texts by contemporary U.S. minority writers Nicole Krauss, Lan Samantha Chang, and Junot Díaz, in which various legacies (respectively, of the Holocaust and of the Chinese and Dominican migrations to the U.S.) are depicted at the level of the second generation. In all three texts, the characters' coming-of-age appears to be paradoxically both sheltered and overshadowed by all-pervading absences and/or by traumatic events that took place in a pre-generational past. So, particular emphasis will be paid to the ways in which Great House, Hunger, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, problematize the transmission of history and memory within a transgenerational context of minority culture. |
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Learning outcomes of the course :
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| The broader aim of the course is to reflect on the ways in which minority literature creatively engages with those debris from the past that may be expunged from official history (even from communal memory), yet that survive to a certain extent at the level of the next generation and have the potential of further legitimizing the new generation's resistance to complete assimilation into the Anglo-American mainstream. |
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Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :
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| The course is integrally taught and assessed in English. |
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Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
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| The course will take the form of interactive seminars animated by the teacher. |
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Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
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| Face to face. |
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Recommended or required readings :
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| For the purpose of easy referencing, please use the following paperback editions:
Nicole Krauss, Great House (New York: Penguin, 2011)
Lan Samantha Chang, Hunger (New York: Norton, 2009)
Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (London: Faber, 2009).
Hunger comprises a novella and 5 short-stories, all of which should be read.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is peppered with untranslated Spanish phrases. The net provides useful translations of these at www.annotated-oscar-wao.com (http://www.annotated-oscar-wao.com/), provided you take them with a pinch of salt. Please bear in mind that you must keep a critical mind as regards any information that is published on the net. |
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Assessment methods and criteria :
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| Assessment will be based on a personal written essay, while the oral exam will take the form of two commentaries on two texts (one of the teacher's choice, one of the student's choice). |
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Work placement(s) :
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Organizational remarks :
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| The course will be organized in the second term (Tuesdays 4-6h pm) and taught by Dr Delphine Munos. |
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Contacts :
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| Delphine Munos
Delphine.Munos@ulg.ac.be |
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