Teaching world literature
By: edited by David Damrosch.
Contributors: Damrosch, David.
Series: Options for teaching series
Publisher: Modern Language Association of America
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 432
ISBN-13: 9781603290333; 9781603290340
Subjects: Literature -- Study and teaching
Description: This is an exciting, and unsettling, time to be teaching world literature, writes David Damrosch. Because the range of works taught in world literature courses has expanded enormously, both historically and geographically, the task of selection--and of teacher preparation--has grown more challenging. Teachers of this field must grapple with such issues as coverage, cultural difference, and the role of translation in the classroom. Should one emphasize masterpieces or traditions, concepts or themes? How does one avoid making a work bear the burden of representing an entire tradition? To what extent should anthologies be used? Can a course be global in scope and yet focus on a few works, authors, moments? This collection of thirty-two essays in the MLA series Options for Teaching offers an array of solutions to these challenges, reflecting the wide variety of institutions, courses, and students described by the contributors. An annotated bibliography is provided, with a listing of useful Web sites.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.