In this course, we will explore how migration has
changed our notions of the nation, home, borders, and culture. After shedding
light on the complexities of these terms with the help of essays by the
theorists Benedict Anderson, Edward Said, and Ali Behdad, we will read six
novels that have grown out of very different cultural backgrounds and that focus
on the complex issues surrounding migration. Specifically, we will discuss the
British children’s book WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams, a tale of homeless
rabbits in search of a new place to live; Turkish Nobel Prize-winner Orhan
Pamuk’s THE WHITE CASTLE, a novel whose themes include the modernization of the
Ottoman Empire and the slave-master relationship; Kenyan-Canadian writer David
Odhiambo’s young-adult novel KIPLIGAT’S CHANCE, the story of an African
immigrant and aspiring athlete; Tayeb Salih’s SEASON OF MIGRATION TO THE NORTH,
the tale of a man who returns to his small village in Sudan after studying in
the West; Monica Ali’s BRICK LANE, a book about life in pre- and post-9/11
England for Muslim immigrants; and Albert Camus’ THE STRANGER, an existentialist
novel set in Algeria. We will also watch and discuss five films that explore
the migrant’s experience: THE VISITOR, RAISING VICTOR VARGAS, DO THE RIGHT
THING, ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL, and DIRTY PRETTY THINGS. The diversity of the
material will allow us to examine the different facets of human migration and
their significance in the 21st century.
Students are expected to
actively participate in class discussions and to write response papers to the
assigned novels and films (500 words min. each; 10 papers in total). All novels
will be available through Revolution Books and will be supplemented with
handouts in class.