127011 KO Critical Readings in Literature (2024S)

As an ongoing and unprecedented humanitarian crisis unfolds in Gaza and an expanded conflict threatens to further destabilize the Middle East, many are (understandably) hungry for context and perspective. That's what this class is for. Literary authors, novelists, and poets in and from Palestine will lead the way, offering us insights and edification. Their stories will provide lenses through which we can engage with the Palestine question and (hopefully) arrive at moral clarity.
This course will explore the tradition of Anglophone Palestinian literature in the 21st Century. We will examine texts across genres (poetry and prose), while also supplementing this discussion with a proper grasp of Palestinian social history and memory. As a result, course discussions will tackle questions pertaining (but not limited) to: national identity, solidarity, resistance, violence, thwarted peace efforts, and the regional tensions shaped by what Immanuel Wallerstein famously calls a "world-system". As such, Palestinian Literature exists as World Literature, in that it arises out of an integrated social universe and literary space, resulting from the combined and uneven development of state power.

Course outcomes:
-Students will be able to recognize formal and thematic features associated with Anglophone Palestinian Literature
-Students will be able to supplement their discussion of Palestinian Literature with a historically-informed and theory-based perspective.
-Students will be able to recognize concepts and methods useful for the study of literature more broadly.

DISCLAIMER: Given the controversial nature of the course topic, and the diversity of backgrounds and opinions within a classroom, the readings and lectures are likely to elicit passionate, yet (hopefully) lively responses. During class discussion, you are required to be open and considerate toward differing points of view, and to observe respect for one another. Hostility, aggression, or animosity toward classmates and peers will not be tolerated. Failure to observe this requirement will negatively affect your participation grade and potentially result in dismissal from the classroom.