CRN: 97020; DL
Online course from 7/02/18 to 8/10/18
Instructor: Ruth Y. Hsu (rhsu@hawaii.edu)
Course Description: Morrison is arguably the most consequential living American writer today. Her work has received prestigious awards, such as the Pulitzer (for Beloved) and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993 (for her complete body of work up to 1993). She has continued to publish critically well received books since being awarded the Nobel, including Desdemona, an avant garde play that reinvents Desdemona, a main character of William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello. Her writing deepens our understanding of history and the ways that we imagine the future of the human species as we enter dangerous times.
Brief bio of Morrison: https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1993/morrison-facts.html
This course focuses on Morrison’s Beloved, Paradise, A Mercy, her play, Desdemona, and her most recent long essay, The Origin of Others (Sept. 2017). We will delve into the major themes of this author’s work with close readings of her books and her play. Themes include identity formation, the dynamics of material and representational impoverishment as well as the equally complex process of self-empowerment and formations of life-giving community. The class also will take a close look at her distinctive narrative innovations, her use of Christian and non-Christian symbols and worldviews. Assigned reading includes online video (available through the UH Library) on the historical and cultural contexts important in understanding the work of Morrison.
Procedure of Online Course: This class is an online, asynchronous class which means that except for one 50-minute session in the first week of the summer session, when we will convene at the same time but online, course content and writing assignments will be handled online. I will read and provide written feedback on your writing; regular individual consultations with me on your writing are required and will take place via Skype or similar software.
Writing Requirements: One research-based essay (minimum of 8 pages, double-spaced); a weekly blog post; one class presentation (5 to 10 minutes) will also take place online. Writing assignments will generate no less than 4000 words or 16-pages, double-spaced pages.
Required Texts: Beloved, Paradise, A Mercy, Desdemona, The Origin of Others
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs):
- Students will expand and deepen their knowledge of Toni Morrison’s major works appropriate for an upper-division course;
- Students will gain a further understanding of Morrison’s contributions to American literature;
- Students will enhance their ability to analyze, to write about, and to verbally articulate their ideas on literature appropriate for an upper-division course.