Summer Session II (Intensive): 7/05/16 to 7/22/16
MTWRF 10:00-1:00
Instructor: Ruth Y. Hsu (rhsu@hawaii.edu)
Description: Morrison is arguably the most consequential American writer today. Her work has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer (for Beloved) and the Nobel Prize for Literature, as well as ongoing international critical and scholarly attention since the publication of her first novel, The Bluest Eye. Her writing re-envisions our understanding of history and deepens the ways that we perceive the future of the human species as we enter dangerous times.
The course will focus on Morrison’s Beloved, Paradise, A Mercy, and her play, Desdemona, and delve into the major themes of this author’s work with close readings of her books and her play and by engaging with a select number of scholarly analyses of her work. Themes are likely to include gender and racial identity, the dynamics of impoverishment as well as the equally complex process of agency, self-empowerment, and current formations of 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 (part of the UH Library catalog) on the historical and cultural contexts important in understanding the work of Morrison.
Procedure: MONDAYS to THURSDAYS, the class will take 5-10 minute breaks every hour. FRIDAY classes will take place online (not in the usual classroom) in asynchronous (we do not have to be connected online, simultaneously) modules. Individual consultations with the instructor on your work will take place on campus. In other words, course content will be handled in the form of class and small group discussions–mostly on campus and also online.
Writing Requirements: One research-based essay (minimum of 8 pages, double-spaced); a weekly blog post and a response to another’s post; one class presentation (5 to 10 minutes) accompanied by an analytical paper (2-pages, double-spaced), totaling no less than 4000 words or 16-pages, double-spaced pages.
Required Texts: Beloved, Paradise, A Mercy, Desdemona (available through the UHM Bookstore).
If you have questions, contact the instructor.