Prof. Joseph Jeon (jjjeon@uci.edu)
TA: Jung Soo Lee (jungsl6@uci.edu)
Lecture: TTh 9:30-10:50am – SH 174
Sections: 1. F 1 – 1:50pm – SST 220A
- F 2 – 2:50pm – SST 220A
Final Exam: Thurs., Dec. 8, 8-10AM
Office Hours:
Jeon: MKH 473 – TTh 11am-12pm and by appointment on Zoom
Lee: F 9-11am by appointment on Zoom
Required Texts:
Teju Cole. Open City. New York: Random House, 2012.
Patricia Highsmith. The Talented Mr. Ripley. New York: Norton, 2008.
Kazuo Ishiguro. A Pale View of the Hills. New York: Vintage International, 1990.
David Mitchell. Cloud Atlas. New York: Random House, 2004.
Taiye Selasi. Ghana Must Go. New York: Penguin, 2013.
Film:
Cloud Atlas(2012) – class google drive (link below)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1G75PqwbL0THy-tjR4jvVafOQkszWktYm?usp=sharing
Course Description:
As today’s world comes to feel smaller and more connected, we increasingly understand ourselves to be living on the planet instead of a locale. That is, we feel affected by events that happen in faraway places and by decisions made by leaders in distant lands. Indeed, many of us come to UCI from a great distance ourselves and bring to this classroom a perspective that is informed by that experience. We felt this keenly during the COVID-19 pandemic when we held Zoom classes with students attending from all over the world and from different time zones. In this broader context, this class will examine fictions that understand themselves to be “global.” They may be set in multiple locations around the world, foreground border locations, or focus on international travel. Looking closely at such stories, we will examine means to occupy transnational spaces. This is not a course in world literature, but rather one than that explores worlding in literature. That is, we will not be attempting the impossible task of trying to understand the world as such in all of its complexity but rather be concerned with the strategies through which one conceives of the world and how one projects oneself into it. We will read these literary representations along with a few from other media mixed in (namely film and videogames) as part of a broader attempt to make sense of the increasingly complex global circuits of exchange, shifting affiliations, and emergent conflicts that characterize our world today.
Graded Work:
Reading/Lecture Quizzes (10%)
Throughout the quarter, I will occasionally give unannounced quizzes during lecture. You will be allowed to use your notes during these quizzes, which are designed to ensure that you are keeping up on your reading and taking effective notes in class. However, please note that computers, tablets, and phones will not be allowed during quizzes. It is highly recommended that you take handwritten notes for the course, but if you prefer electronic options, remember to print out your notes before each lecture. Because these quizzes function as well to monitor lecture attendance, they cannot be made up.
Section Participation (15%)
Sections are an opportunity to share and develop ideas in conversation with your classmates. Please be regularly prepared, often stimulating, and occasionally brilliant. Discussion section attendance is mandatory. The section leader will set formal attendance policies. She will also grade the contribution of each student to section discussions. In addition, we will also use sections to generate questions and feedback for the lectures. To this end, each section session will generate a question or comment, which Prof. Jeon will take up in the following lecture. Your section leader will facilitate this aspect of the course.
Midterm (35%)
The midterm exam consists of two equally weighted parts. The first is an in-class section that will assess the student’s understanding of reading and lecture material. The second is a take-home portion that will be a 1000-word essay that responds to a prompt that will be given out about a week before the due date.
Final (40%)
The format for the final is the same as the midterm, consisting of two equally weighted parts, and in class portion and a 1000-word essay that responds to a prompt that will be given out about a week before the due date.
Additional Course Policies:
- Plagiarism is a serious offense that will meet severe consequences. Plagiarism includes purchasing papers from online sites; failing to cited passages copied from outside sources; and paraphrasing/copying work from published books, other students papers, web-sites, guides such as Cliffs’ Notes, etc. There is little room for leniency here.
- Although I greatly prefer them handwritten, students are permitted to use laptops in class to take notes. The use of the internet during classes, however, is strictly prohibited, as is the use of cell phones.
- Late work will be penalized.
- Audio-visual recordings of lecture or class proceeding is not allowed, nor is the unauthorized distribution of such recordings or any other class materials.
- Finally, this quarter I am offering extra-credit opportunities for students who attend various designated events that I will mention in lectures. To prove your attendance, take a selfie of yourself on your way out after it ends in a way that proves you were there through the end, and send it to the Teaching Assistant.
Course Syllabus
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 1 – Introduction
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 2 – Cloud Atlas1
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 3 – Cloud Atlas2
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 4 – Cloud Atlas3
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 5 – Cloud Atlas4
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 6 – Cloud Atlas5
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 7-1 – Cloud Atlas5
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 7-2 – Ghana Must Go1
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 8 – Ghana Must Go2
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 9 – Ghana Must Go3
ENGL10 Global Fictions -10 – Pale View of Hills1
ENGL10 Global Fictions – 11 – Pale View of Hills2
Changes to ENGL 10 Fall 2022 and FINAL PROMPTS