Queens College – Department of European Languages and Literature
Modern Greek 41W-01 – Modern Greek Literature in Translation – Fall 2012
M – W 4:30 – 5:45 p.m., Kiely 412 [Code: 3284]
Instructor: Eleni Natsiopoulou Office: Kiely 702 Office Hours: M & W 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. and by appointment. Phone: (718) 997-5657 E-mail: [email protected]
Course Description: This course is a survey of Modern Greek Literature (in translation) from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present. We will examine the authors and their works for their individual stylistic and thematic elements within the context of European literary and cultural movements. This is a “W” course and therefore, we will also focus on the development of writing skills. We will devote some time each week to discussing writing issues and will workshop papers.
Learning Objectives: In this class the students will be taught to: analyze and interpret texts through close reading, analysis, and writing; recognize literature’s ability to reflect the character of a particular society by examining literary works as products of historical conditions, cultural contexts, and personal experiences; provide a comparative approach to understanding the place of Modern Greek literature within the larger field of European literature; develop students’ skills in critical thinking, understanding and appreciation of the written language; and advance students’ writing and analytical skills on the university level.
Required texts: 1. Course packet: Available at Queens Copy Center.
2. Kazantzakis, N. (1965). Report to Greco. New York: Simon and Schuster
3. Vassilikos V. (1968). Z. New York: Ballantine Books, Inc.
Recommended Text: A Writing Handbook, such as The Little, Brown Compact Handbook.
Library Reserve: Report to Greco and Z novels will be on reserve at main library reserve desk.
Assignments: 1) Students need to attend class everyday. However, it is not your presence that is graded but rather your participation, which requires meaningful contribution to the discussions of the readings in class and cooperation with peers in group assignments and writing workshops. It is therefore mandatory that you attend all sessions, have completed all readings in advance, and arrive to each session on time. Absence from a class is not an excuse for being unprepared and/or for skipping the readings of that class.
1 2) You have to complete one short and two longer writing assignments for this class. For the longer assignments you have to produce a first draft and revise it based on your peers’ and my comments. All writing assignments need to be typed and double-spaced, with 1’’ margins. Use 12-point font size, preferably Times New Roman. Include a cover page but do not add plastic covers. Remember to include page numbers.
3) For each day’s reading you need to write a synopsis (no more than one double-spaced page).
4) You may be given 2 or 3, random, very short reading quizzes in the beginning of a given day’s session for the readings of that day. This requires that you come prepared.
5) It is an expectation that you complete the work on time. All assignments will be due in the beginning of class on the specified date. Submit a hard copy, please, do not email.
Evaluation: 1) Participation: 20% 2) Short writing assignment (2-3 pages): 15% 3) Short reading quizzes and daily reading synopses: 15% 4) Paper I (5-7 pages): 20% 5) Paper II (7-9 pages): 30%
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of using someone else’s words, ideas or structures as your own without proper documentation. It is an extremely serious academic offense and can get you expelled from the College. If you have any questions about how to use or cite outside sources, please ask for help.
Writing Center: The Queens College Writing Center offers individual tutoring in person and online. The Writing Center is located in Kiely 229, and can be reached at 718-997-5676. The Center makes appointments for the whole term at the beginning, so I recommend checking the due dates of assignments and going as soon as possible to make appointments. If you wait it will be next to impossible to get a slot. For more information see the Student Resources website: http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/writing/
Dates to Remember: M 09/03: Labor Day: College closed M 09/17: Rosh Hashanah: No classes scheduled W 09/26: Yom Kippur: No classes scheduled M 08/10: Columbus Day: College is closed
Major Assignments Due Dates: Short Assignment I: Wed. September 5 First Draft of Paper I: Wed. October 24 Peer Group Writing Workshop: Wed. October 31 Final Draft of Paper I: Wed. November 7 First Draft of Paper II: Wed. November 28 Final Draft of Paper II: Wed. December 12
Course Plan
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Week One
M 08/27: Introduction: The Country and its History.
W 08/29: Kondylakis: “How the Village became Greek.”
Week Two
M 09/03: Labor Day: College is closed
W 09/05: Solomos: “Hymn of Liberty” (verses 1-16), “Easter Day,” “The Free Besieged,” Draft II.
[Submit Short Writing Assignment I]
Week Three
M 09/10: Makriyannis: “Memoirs.”
W 09/12: Palamas: “The Death of the Gods.” Xenopoulos: “The Madman with the Red Lilies.”
Week Four
M 09/17: No classes scheduled: Rosh Hashanah
W 09/19: Papathiamantis: “The Murderess.” 1-53
Week five
M 09/24: Vizyenos: “My Mother’s Sin.”
W 2/26: No classes scheduled: Yom Kippur
Week six
M 10/01: Cavafy: “Ithaca,” “The City,” “The God Abandons Antony,” “Walls,” “Voices.”
W 10/03: Cavafy: “Waiting for the Barbarians,” “In the year 200 B.C.,” “In a large Greek Colony, 200 B.C.,” “Myris: Alexandria, A.D. 340.”
Week seven
M 10/08: College is closed: Columbus Day
W 10/10: Sikelianos: “The Sacred Way,” “Agraphon.” Varnalis: “Magdalene,” “Orestes,” “Jungle.” Ouranis: “I shall Die one Day a Mournful Autumn Twilight.”
Week eight
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M 10/15: Papatsonis: “The Dependence.” Kariotakis: “Clerical Workers,” “Preveza.”
W 10/17: Seferis: “In the Manner of G. S.,” “The King of Asini,” “Helen.”
Week nine
M 10/22: Antoniou: “Tonight you Remembered the Beginning,” “Obstacle to What?” Kavadias: “Parallels,” “Fog,” “Gabrielle Didot,” “A Black Stroker from Djibouti,” “Letter from a sick Person,” “Kuro Siwo.”
W 10/24: Ritsos: “Romiosyne,” “Penelope’s Despair,” “The Tombs of Our Ancestors.”
[Submit First Draft of Paper I]
Week ten
M 10/29: Elytis: “Heroic and Elegiac Song for the Lost Second Lieutenant of the Albanian Campain,” “The Axion Esti.”
W 10/31: PEER GROUP WRITING WORKSHOP
Week eleven
M 11/05: Myrivillis: “Life in the Tomb” Artillery Duel, Out of the Depths & Uncle Stylianos the Hunter
W 11/07: Alexandrou: The Strongbox.” Kotzias: “Jaguar.” Valtinos: “Panayiotis.” [Submit Final Paper I]
Week twelve
M 11/12: Taktsis: “The Third Wedding,” (Chapters 1 - 4)
W 11/14: Samarakis: “The Passport,” “The Conquest.”
Week thirteen
M 11/19: Kazantzakis: “Report to Greco,” Chapters: Prologue – The Son (pp. 17-51)
W 11/21: Kazantzakis: “Report to Greco,” Chapters: Elementary School – Longing for Flight (pp. 52- 84)
Week fourteen
M 11/26: Kazantzakis: “Report to Greco,” Chapters: Massacre – Adolescent Difficulties (pp. 85-126)
4 W 11/28: Kazantzakis: “Report to Greco,” Chapters: The Irish Lass – Return to Crete. Knossos (pp. 127-154) [Submit first draft of Paper II]
Week fifteen
M 12/03: Vassilikos: “Z,” Chapters 1-9
W 12/05: Vassilikos: “Z,” Chapters 10-19
Week sixteen
M 12/10: Vassilikos: “Z,” Chapters 20-41
W 12/12: Patrikios: “Allegory” Negrepontis: “An Appointment,” “Larissa 1,” “Larissa 2” Christianopoulos: “Antigone’s Defense of Oedipus,” “The Park.”
[Submit Final Paper II]
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