Academic Catalog

ENGL 14: TRAVELING THE WORLD THROUGH CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2024
Units: 4
Hours: 4 lecture per week (48 total per quarter)
Advisory: Demonstrated proficiency in English by placement via multiple measures OR through an equivalent placement process OR completion of ESLL 125 & ESLL 249.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Area I: Humanities
Transferable: CSU/UC
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Students can understand postmodernism in literature and recognize its effect on selected contemporary fiction.
  • Students can articulate a main idea at essay level (thesis)
  • Students will demonstrate (verbally and in writing) competence in analyzing, or "close reading" literary texts.

Description

Selected fiction written between 1950 and the present, with emphasis on literature in translation. Students are introduced to various thematic and stylistic trends in contemporary multicultural fiction within the contexts of contemporaneous scientific discoveries, historical, religious, and cultural developments; as well as multiple theories of identity and power.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Distinguish features and aspects of various contemporary works, recognizing categories, motifs, and genres appropriate to an introductory college-level discussion of literature.
  2. Critique texts with insight and accuracy, applying basic literary terminologies and theories.
  3. Read and discuss a variety of forms of contemporary fiction.

Course Content

  1. Introduction to various contemporary works
    1. "New journalism" and the nonfiction novel
    2. Feminist writing and gender studies
    3. "Pop" literature
    4. Postmodernism, e.g., magical realism, metafiction, flash fiction, etc.
    5. Multicultural and international fiction
  2. Critique of contemporary works
    1. Oral presentations
    2. Instructor-facilitated discussions
  3. Introduction to forms of fiction
    1. Read and discuss at least two novels
    2. Read and discuss an anthology of short stories
    3. Read and discuss other forms, e.g., novella, single-page pieces

Lab Content

Not applicable.

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. When taught on campus, no special equipment needed.
2. When taught online, on-going access to computer with email software and learning management software.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Critical papers and/or essay exams
Quizzes, midterm, oral reports, and final exam
Participation in classroom discussion

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lectures/presentations by instructor and students
Group discussions
Informal assignments such as response papers or discussion posts

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. 1986.

Charters, Ann. Major Writers of Short Fiction: Stories and Commentaries. 2006.

Coetzee, J.M.. The Childhood of Jesus. 2013.

Doubiago, Sharon. The Book of Seeing with One's Own Eyes. 1988.

Eaglestone, Robert. Contemporary Fiction: A Very Short Introduction. 2013.

Hagedorn, Jessica. Dogeaters. 1991.

Ito, Junji. Fragments of Horror. 2017.

Johnson, Denis. Train Dreams. 2011.

Manea, Norman. October, Eight O'Clock. 1992.

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. 1982.

Mohsin, Hamid. The Reluctant Fundamentalist. 2007.

Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. 1970.

Oe, Kenzabur. A Personal Matter. 1969.

Solomon, Barbara. Other Voices, Other Vistas: Short Stories from Africa, India, China, Japan, and Latin America. 2002.

Troughton, Tessa. Writing a Review of Literature (OER). 2023.

Wole, Soyinka. Death and the King's Horseman. 1975.

Although some of these texts are older than the suggested "5 years or newer" standard, they remain seminal texts in this area of study.

The Troughton text is available as an OER resource: https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/100169

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Reading and analysis of assigned literature
  2. Intertextual analyses
  3. Discussion forum posts
  4. Literature reviews

Discipline(s)

English