People who are fascinated by different cultures and love reading fiction will be able to combine their interests by participating in this course. Often it is exciting to read a book relevant to your travel destination. We study various themes within short stories and novellas set in locations all over the world. We will read and discuss novels set in the UK, on the Continent, in the Americas, and the Pacific Islands. The effects of Fascism in Hungary may be read in conjunction with a view of Fascism from the Germans. The power play within Eastern European domestic life may be read in conjunction that of the same in Cuba. A lecture will be presented and discussion during and after the lecture encouraged.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

SUGGESTED READING

• The True Deceiver, Tove Jansson
• My Antonia, Willa Catha
• An Imaginary Life, David Malouf
• The Cement Garden, Ian McEwan
• The Shawl, Synthia Ozic
• Address Unknown, Kathrine Taylor
• A Meal in Winter, Hubert Mingarelli
• Anthem, Ayn Rand
• The Fallen, Carlos Manuel Alvarez

COURSE OUTLINE

• Read or listen to one story each week, focusing attention on the nominated theme
• Learn about the background and historical context of each text
• Make comparisons of authors’ intentions of the nominated theme
• Discuss differing literary techniques used by each author
• Evaluate the authors’ achievements

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Closely analyse and understand international texts
2. Distinguish the global contexts of international texts
3. Gain knowledge of international texts in historical context
4. Evaluate authors’ communication
5. Become prepared for further reading and research