Instructor: Gregory Miller, University Writing Program, College of Letters and Science
Description:This class will analyze literature written in English by writers whose identity may be understood as transcultural. We will explore the historical forces and literary influences shaping these writers, look at the pressures of and resistance to assimilation, consider differences between pre- and post-9/11 Anglophone literature, and examine the marketing of multiculturalism. Texts: Brian Friel. Translations, Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia, and Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss. We will also read some short works of/excerpts from fiction, poetry and theory.
Format: The seminar will meet for two hours each week. Students will be asked to read very carefully the portions of the book assigned for each week. Supplemental critical articles will be available in a small course reader available at Navin’s. Each student will pair up with a partner and pick a week to make an oral presentation on one of the critical readings for the week. Each student will also be responsible for leading one segment of discussion; this will entail launching a preliminary question to set the discussion on a relevant path, and being at the ready with additional questions and passages of interest as needed. In addition to the readings, oral presentations and discussion leading, students will write a course paper on one or more of the primary texts; this paper will make use of critical articles. Grading: Participation (including Discussion Leading): 25%; Oral Presentations: 25%; Course Paper (6-8 pp.): 50%
About the Instructor: Gregory Miller has taught for the Department of English and the Comparative Literature program. He is currently a Lecturer with the University Writing Program. His research interests include post-1945 Anglophone literature, critical theory and film. His dissertation concerns the implications of Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy for aesthetic theory, particularly with regard to contemporary narrative. He is currently researching cinematic representations of U.S. poverty. He has published work on playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, novelist Carolyn Chute, film, jazz, James Baldwin, Jamaica Kincaid and the Harlem Renaissance. He has reviewed books for the San Diego Union-Tribune since 1997.