Assigned reading

[qatarperegrine]

Last night my parents & I talked about the books that our students are reading. It is a rather eclectic list, and I don't think I'm revealing any professional secrets by posting it.

• English 100: a reader of short stories and essays by world English writers
• [English 99: the above, plus Tale of Two Cities]
• English 101: Kafka's Metamorphosis and Magnus Mills' All Quiet on the Orient Express
• Elective: Silas Marner, Babbitt, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Separate Peace.

So, if you were teaching English literature to Arab students -- some of whom had been educated in English for years and who have read all the basic required high school books, and others of whom have not -- what books would you use? What are the classics of English literature that every college student ought to read?

Comments

how do you define English literature?

[http://users.livejournal.com/syd___/]

Since Kafka and To Kill a Mockingbird are included, the definition doesn't seem to be derived from literary writers of England. I think it would be worthwhile to include at least a small selection of post-colonial literature (like Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart). If my memory of that book serves me correctly, it would be an interesting juxtaposition with Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (though a book centered around a crisis of faith in a student might stir up uncomfortable discussions). I need to go browse my bookshelves some more and will come back and post again.
...I will never recommend Moby Dick!

Re: how do you define English literature?

[http://users.livejournal.com/syd___/]

OOPS! I switched two books in my mind -- so I meant a comparison of Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih with Portait of the Artist. But Chinua Achebe's book would also be interesting in juxtaposition. A lot depends on what you can get away with regarding sexuality and religion. As soon as I try to think of books, I end up having a secondary motivation of why they would be interesting to read -- mostly as cultural commentary including on the status of women. For example, I would expect the perception of and reaction to Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale to be very different there then in a typical US English course. (I decided to browse the AP English recommended reading lists as part of responding to your post).

Re: how do you define English literature?

[qatar.livejournal.com]

You're right, I think that sexuality at least has been considered in deciding the cultural appropriateness of a book. I suspect that's why they ended up with so many old books!