Instructor: Ms.
Bich Minh Nguyen
E-mail: bmnguyen@uncg.edu
Mailbox: English
Department, 133 McIver
Office: 136E
McIver
Office tel #: 334-5837
Office hours: T
Th
Student
Learning Goals
At the completion of this course, the student
will be able to:
·
Demonstrate
an understanding of the interconnections among regions of the world, including
regions other than North, American,
·
Locate,
interpret, and evaluate information on diverse global cultures
·
Demonstrate
sensitivity to cultural differences on a global scale
General
Expectations
·
The
“GN” marker indicates a subset of Global Perspectives courses (see above) which
focuses on cultures, nations, or sub-nationalities in Eurasia, the Caribbean, Central
and Latin America, East Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan
Africa, South Asia and the Pacific Islands, and indigenous people around the
world
·
A
specific course should focus on the social, literary, cultural, historical,
geographic, religious, artistic, or political conditions of peoples outside the
Anglo and Anglo-American context, and of peoples of diasporic
and indigenous groups
·
Curricular
issues include matters of cultural, social, political, economic, or historical
change, for example, human diversity, identity, interdependence, human rights,
justice, religion, political systems, ecology, technology, material culture, or
post-colonial developments
·
The
term “global nonwestern” carries with it an emphasis on the inter-connections
between regions, whether conceived in terms of colonial and neocolonial
relationships, human rights, discourses of justice, cultural and aesthetic
developments, technology, ecology, or epistemology
Required texts (subject to change)
Global Voices: Contemporary Literature from the Non-Western
World. Biddle, Bien,
Cooke, Dharwadker, Gonzalez Echevarria, Mzamane, Reyes, Eds.
Meatless Days, Sara Suleri
This
course will introduce you to postcolonial theory and the literature of the
major regions of the non-Western world. Through literature we will try to
understand some of the basic issues of postcolonial development: identity; gender; race; politics and power;
alienation and exile; and society and individual after independence. By
embracing these works, many of which provide guiding principles for the
cultures they represent, you will become more familiar not only with the
writings considered central to certain non-Western cultures but also with the
ideological and social bases of the cultures themselves. Come to class prepared to share your ideas,
work with your peers, and challenge yourself. Class requirements include active
participation in class discussion, quizzes, and four exams.
2. Reading responses and quizzes
In general, the
grade breakdown will be as follows:
Each exam: 15% each (for a total of 60%)
Participation and attendance: 30%
Quizzes and reading responses: 10%
Deadlines will
be strictly enforced. Late work will not
be accepted. This course involves a
great deal of in-class group work and discussion, the kind that is virtually
impossible to make up outside of the class; therefore, if you miss a class you
will not be able to make up that day’s in-class work. This
includes exams.
You all know
what this is: plagiarism is the use of
someone else’s ideas or words and claiming them as your own. This includes using a source without citing
it and turning in another person’s work.
It also includes turning in work that you have already turned in for a
different course. Plagiarism is an
extremely serious matter and will result in the failure of this course as well
as possible expulsion from the University.
And Remember
Take care to
keep the syllabus and the schedule handy, as assignments and due dates are
subject to change. And don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions! Utilize the class group, come by my office
hours, or write me over e-mail.