HS 410 - SOUTH ASIAN FICTION IN ENGLISH

Semester:

Autumn 2018

Instructor:

Prof. Paulomi Chakraborty

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites

Description:

The course aims to teach students ways of reading literary texts: how to situate texts to social, historical,and political contexts, how to analyze fiction and write about them. Along with gaining knowledge and insight into the selected texts, students are invited to appreciate the complexities of the themes and issues they will locate in the texts.

Course Content

In this edition of the course, a set of texts was chosen in English and in English translation, from the Indian subcontinent and its diaspora, using food as the central theme to explore the complexities of histories, identities and cultures of the subcontinent, and their interplay.

Feedback on Lectures:

Students are expected to read the text to be discussed in class beforehand. The professor usually starts off with our initial thoughts on the text and then describes its context and history before moving on to the finer details. Classes are very interactive and often driven by students. The professor highly encourages students to come up with their observations and opinions. Owing to the small size of class (around 10), actively engaging in class is very fruitful and necessary to get the full benefit of the course.

Feedback on Exams:

There were 3 quizzes, midsem and endsem. There was no graded assignment. The 3rd quiz and a part of endsem contained unseen passage and poem. The rest contained questions based on the texts covered in class mostly from the review questions posted on Moodle and class discussions. The exams are easy if one has taken note of the points discussed in class. However, since the questions are essay type, it might take some practice to get the hang of writing them to the point and on time.

Difficulty:

The course is not difficult as long as one attends classes and engages in class discussions. The course is very enjoyable for anyone enthusiastic about reading literature and interested in exploring different facets of human society.

Grading:

Grading stats are available on ASC.

References:

The reading material is provided by the prof.

For more details, contact: namrata.mantri97@gmail.com