Required Texts:

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (Nigeria)
Nawal El Saadawi, Woman at Point Zero (Egypt)
Khushwant Singh, Train to Pakistan (India/Pakistan)
Mariama Bâ, So Long a Letter (Senegal)

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Course Objectives:

The primary objective of this course is to introduce students to the literature of South Asia and Africa, exposing them to the rich diversity of these regions, to the oftentimes painful and traumatic historical events that helped shape this diversity, and to different aesthetic styles and gendered forms of writing.  This course also attempts to cultivate cultural sensitivity to such multicultural issues as colonialism, nationality, race, and gender.

General Education Objectives:

CST 231 is a General Education (GE) course and as such incorporates the three broad objectives of all GE courses:

• To develop critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills as a basis for life-long learning

• To cultivate sensitivity to issues of multiculturalism and to cultures other than our own;

• To increase knowledge and understanding of the past and the impact of past events on our present and future.

CST 231 belongs to Area II (Cultural-Social Foundations) of the GE Program and emphasizes Area II’s specific objectives:

• To help students develop a historical perspective on their own culture
• To understand cultures beyond their own
• To build awareness of the realitites of global interdependence

Writing Intensive Objectives:

CST 231 is also a Writing Intensive (WI) course. Courses designated as writing-intensive include as their objectives:

• Helping students think critically about the course material by writing about it;
• Giving students an opportunity to exercise their editing skills;
• Helping students learn the conventions of writing in the field of English.

Note that you need to score a C or higher in order to have this course count as WI.

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Course Requirements:

1.      20% of the quarter grade will be based on quizzes over the literature and lectures. There will be a total of four quizzes, one on each text. These will consist of short answer questions. If you are absent on a quiz day, you will receive an F for the quiz; exceptions to this policy will only be made if you inform me of your absence beforehand so that we can work out an alternative plan..

2.      Students will write and revise a short paper on any text studied in our class. The draft will be due at mid-quarter. The revision will be due at the end of the course. The paper will count towards 30% of the final grade.

3.      There will be a final examination which will count for 20% of the final grade. The final examination will be scheduled at the university’s appointed time.

4.      Attendance will be taken ten times during the term, making up 10% of the final grade.  These times will be randomly chosen.  If you miss class on the day attendance was taken, you will not be counted as present under any circumstance.  I will not accept make-up work as counting towards attendance.

5.      This is a part-lecture, part-discussion course. Students are encouraged to participate in class discussion and in small group work. 20% of the final grade will be based on participation.

6.      Students may not walk out in the middle of class.

7.      Students with disabilities should make arrangements with me and with Disability Services in order to complete the assignments. Disability Services may be contacted at 775-5680.

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Note on Academic Integrity:

The internet has made it so very easy for students to find completed essays, reader's notes, and commentaries on all of the texts that we will read in this class. Please remember that all Wright State students are responsible for upholding the University's Code of Academic Integrity (available through the Office of Judicial Affairs). Academic dishonesty, including instances of cheating and plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Students who violate the University's policies on Academic Integrity risk not only failing the course but also receiving further penalties imposed by an Academic Integrity Hearing Panel. If you are at all unsure about whether you might have plagiarized someone else's writing, please talk to me before you hand in your papers.

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Tentative Schedule of Classes:

Week 1:  Introductions; Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Week 2:  Complete Things Fall Apart; quiz #1
Week 3:  Nawal El Saadawi, Woman at Point Zero
Week 4:  Complete Woman at Point Zero; quiz #2
Week 5:  Khushwant Singh, Train to Pakistan; draft of paper due
Week 6:  Complete Train to Pakistan; quiz #3
Week 7:  Mariama Bâ, So Long a Letter
Week 8:  Complete So Long a Letter; quiz #4
Week 9:  Review
Week 10: Conclusion; revision of paper due

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Grading:

All grades will be computed on a 100-point scale: 100-90=A; 89-80=B; 79-70=C; 69-60=D; 59-0=F

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