ENG 145 Nobel Literature Online, Asynchronous May 22-July 1 2017 4 credits Course Web Info: <blackboard.gordon.edu>; see also <nobelprize.org> for helpful resources Instructor: Chad Stutz Office Phone: (978) 867-4754 Cell Phone: (617) 694-9722 Email:
[email protected] Virtual Office Hours: M–F, 9-10:15 a.m. EST; by appointment Description There can be no greater recognition in the literary world than the Nobel Prize for Literature. Awarded by the Swedish Academy, the prize is given for excellence in literature as a representation or illustration of culture. The award is given for an author’s entire oeuvre—often after the publication of a seminal work. In the study of Nobel Prize-winning authors, we are studying those individuals who, according to the directive of Alfred Nobel, “have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind,” and, in the field of literature, “have produced the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency.” Our focus will be on selected works of fiction, poetry, and drama by Nobel laureates as we discover more about our world and what it means to be human through the literature of its disparate peoples. We will also, inevitably and deliberately, interpret what we read through the lens of our faith as we meet writers and characters who do not share a Christian worldview. Finally, we will work on developing reading, writing, and critical thinking skills through online discussions, reading quizzes, and an essay. This course fulfills the Core Global Understanding Theme (Old Core) and the Core Literature Requirement (New Core), helping students to foster “an understanding of and engagement with global cultures in all their diversity” (Core Objective #4).