1) Many of the texts in class depict women characters in both powerful and subservient roles. Using two or three texts/examples from class, discuss the role of women, the depiction of the institution of marriage and gender relations.
2) While love may be a universal human emotion, it has different historical meanings, depictions and value. Choosing two or three texts or examples from class, discuss the different depictions of love (which can be romantic, familial, friendly, religious, etc). What role does love play? What institutions arise out of love? What is the relationship between love and bondage and love and freedom?
3) Choosing two or three texts from the course, describe the conflict between personal happiness and social obligation.
4) What is the meaning and purpose of work? What is the relationship between work and self? Using the novel Animals in Suits, discuss these questions.
5) Animals in Suits discusses the relationship between consumption and work, and consumption and freedom. Using examples from the novel, elaborate on these relationships. What is consumption, how does the novel define it? What is Jake’s relationship to consumption, to freedom, and to work?
6) Many of the text depict an altered modern world, where the themes of alienation, disillusion, and loneliness prevail. Choose two to three texts and analyze the theme of alienation and its relationship to modernity. How does setting or environment contribute to or convey alienation? What causes loneliness? How do characters react to feelings of disillusion and loneliness?
7) Choosing two or three texts from the course, describe the conflict between authority figures and those that they subdue. Who are the figures of authority? Who are figures in fear of authority? How does authority operate? Elaborate on the relationship between authority and identity.
8) Discuss the various endings of the readings: Naghib Mahfouz’s Zabaalawi, Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Tagore’s Punishment are some examples. What is the meaning of the ending, and how does the ending reflect on the story as a whole?
9) Creative Assignment Poetry: Create a Poetry portfolio. Your portfolio must contain 6 poems, two for each poet we have covered in class. The poems should be inspired by Blake, Ghalib, and Yeats. Follow closely the rhyme, patterns, language, symbolism and style of the poet. You will be graded on how well your poems reflects the original poet’s style and voice as well as your own originality of thought and ideas. Please include a two page essay at the end, describing your poetic process, difficulties you might have encountered with writing the poems, and how your poems reflect the themes of the poets Blake, Ghalib and Yeats.
10) Creative Assignment Narrative: Take a narrative from class, and reimagine the ending. Make sure that your reimagining takes into account the original author’s voice, style, narrative techniques, subject matter, imagery and tone. Some exemplary texts might be: Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Tagore’s Punishment, Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Illyich. Please include a one to two page essay at the end, describing your process and your justification—why did you reimagine the ending in that particular way, and how does changing the ending change the meaning of the story?
