Fall 2008

SLA 380 • TRAVEL LITERATURE

Course Description

In this course, we shall study the written narrative of travel in its various generic forms, the travel poem, the essay, the novel, the letter, the adventure narrative, the narrative of self-discovery, the artistic expression of encounter with the Other and the Past, the shipwreck narrative. We shall also concentrate on certain preferred locations such as Japan, China, Central Asia, Near East, and South America. The course will seek to define the generic terminology of travel literature, its parameters and limitations. We shall also interpret the role of narrator and the narratee, the function of the Other and the performance of Otherness, the centrality of its discourses overt and covert i.e., colonial and Post-Colonial discourse, etc.

Grading Policy

Class presentation 20% Midterm 30% Final or final paper 40% Participation in class discussion 10%

Texts

In this course, we shall study the written narrative of travel in its various generic forms, the travel poem, the essay, the novel, the letter, the adventure narrative, the narrative of self-discovery, the artistic expression of encounter with the Other and the Past, the shipwreck narrative. We shall also concentrate on certain preferred locations such as Japan, China, Central Asia, Near East, and South America. The course will seek to define the generic terminology of travel literature, its parameters and limitations. We shall also interpret the role of narrator and the narratee, the function of the Other and the performance of Otherness, the centrality of its discourses overt and covert i.e., colonial and Post-Colonial discourse, etc.

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