In this course, subtitled The Heart of Literature, we will examine creative literature--in various genres from ancient to recent times--and cinematic works that move us as readers. How and why do certain books manage to speak so eloquently to our hearts as well as our minds? What is it that stirs our emotional unconscious as we follow the relationship between a troubled soul and his mentor in Dante's Inferno? or as we consider the plight of exiles and immigrants in classical epics (Homer's Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid) and contemporary film and literature (Amelio's Lamerica, Danticat's Krik? Krak!)? or as we assess the question of what it means to be human in Primo Levi's If This Is a Man and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein? or as we encounter the powerful effects of remorse and love on a murderer's tortured psyche in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment? Throughout the semester we will discuss how these works succeed (or not) in raising important ethical and aesthetic issues through their appeal to our emotional selves.

Reading and Viewing List

Viewings: Lamerica (Gianni Amelio); Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh)

Requirements:

This course contains a substantial writing component.
Writing Assignments
Essay #1: 4 pages (1000 words). 10%
Essay #2 (substantial revision of first essay): 4 pages (1000 words). 15%
Essay #3: 5 pages (1250 words). 20%
Creative writing project (with critical commentary): 3 pages (750 words). 10%

There will be one in-class examination (15%). Class participation and preparation (including a journal containing responses to the readings and viewings) will account for the remaining 30% of the final grade. There is no final examination.

Attendance Policy: Regular attendance is required. No student who misses more than 6 classes (3 weeks) for any reason can complete the course with a passing grade.

"The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY."

The Heart of Literature

9/1: Introductions

1. Making and Breaking Human Bonds

9/6: Dante, Inferno 1-3 (cantos 1-3): see http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu

9/8: Inferno 4-6 (Limbo, Francesca and Paolo)

9/13: Inferno 7-10 (Farinata, Cavalcante)

9/15: Inferno 11-13 (Pier della Vigna)

9/20: Inferno 14-16 (Brunetto Latini)

9/22: Inferno 17-20 (Pope Nicholas III)

9/27: Inferno 21-25 (Malebranche)

2. Home and Away: Exiles and Refugees

9/29: Inferno 26-27 (Ulysses); Virgil's Aeneid, books 2 &4; first essay due

10/4: Inferno 28-31; Aeneid, book 6; Homer's Odyssey, book 11

10/6: Inferno 32-34 (Ugolino); Odyssey, books 16-17

10/11: Edwidge Danticat, Krik? Krak! 1-88

10/13: Krik? Krak! 89-141

10/18: Krik? Krak! 143-224; second essay due; screening of Lamerica at 7pm in FAC 344

3. What It Means to Be Human

10/20: Primo Levi, Se questo è un uomo ("Survival in Auschwitz") 9-55

10/25: Se questo è un uomo 56-122

10/27: Se questo è un uomo 123-73

11/1: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (volume 1)

11/3: Frankenstein (volume 2, chapters 1-8)

11/8 finish Frankenstein; screening of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at 7 pm in FAC 344

4. A Crisis of Conscience

11/10: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment, part 1

11/15: Crime and Punishment, part 2; third essay due

11/17: Crime and Punishment, part 3

11/22: Crime and Punishment, part 4

(11/24: Thanksgiving Holiday)

11/29: Crime and Punishment, part 5

12/1: Crime and Punishment, part 6 and epilogue

12/6: creative assignment due

12/8: In-class examination