This course will focus on literature that exists beyond English, challenging the hegemony of the language. We will read fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in translation, as well as diasporic authors who write in English. We will examine poetic forms that have migrated into English: the ghazal, the sonnet, and the haiku. We will also discuss essays on writing and the politics of “craft” and translation. For those of us who create in English, what can we learn from those who create in other languages or whose first language is not English? What kind of politics does a language hide? What is the role of the artist? The seminar will include readings from Noor Naga, Etel Adnan, M. NourbeSe Philip, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Edward Said, Tezer Özlü, Jacques Derrida, and Faiz Ahmad Faiz, among others. We might also incorporate some film screenings. Students will deliver class presentations and complete critical and creative assignments.

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