Assignments

ENGL 2110 World Literature, Spring 2026

Section 03: MW 2:00-3:15 p.m., Arts & Sciences 246

In Class Activities

1. Lysistratic Nonaction aka Sex Strike!

Today, let's begin our discussion of Aristophanes's Lysistrata by break into groups of 4-5 students to meet some peers and break down the play's representation of gender and sexuality. Groups should respond to their assigned group number and elect a secretary to share, orally, their work with the class.

  1. Discuss the characters' attitudes toward men, men's roles and male sexuality. Select 2-3 passages demonstrating these attitudes.
  2. Discuss the characters' attitudes toward women, women's roles and female sexuality. Select 2-3 passages demonstrating these attitudes.
  3. Given the ironic tone of the play, what is the play's attitude toward men's roles and male sexuality? Select 2-3 passages demonstrating these attitudes.
  4. Given the ironic tone of the play, what is the play's attitude toward women's roles and female sexuality? Select 2-3 passages demonstrating these attitudes.
  5. What ideas does the play convey about marriage on the one hand and war on the other hand?

2. Connections, Conversions, and Queries

In accordance with modified campus operations due to the winter storm, today's class will be conducted asynchronously on the GeorgiaVIEW discussion board. To be marked Present, answer your assigned question in a 150-250 word response in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Discussions > Winter Storm Discussion Board by Tuesday, January 27, at 11:59 p.m. Here is the question:

Here are the assigned sections of Metamorphosis:

3. Self and Sacrifice

For today's class on The Bhagavad-Gita, let's break into groups (with secretaries taking notes to share with the large class) to discuss the key philosophical and moral ideas discussed by Arjuna and Lord Krsna.

4. From Chinese Philosophy to Christian Autobiography

Today, let's complete our discussion of Confucius and Laozi and begin our discussion of Augustine with directed questions to be answered by our six research project groups.

  1. Laozi and the Spiritual Way: What do Laozi's repeated use of terms like emptiness, nothingness, and nonaction suggest about the spiritual meaning of the Dao, the Way individuals should cultivate themselves? How does this compare to Confucius's teachings?
  2. Laozi and the Political Way: What do Laozi's repeated use of terms like emptiness, nothingness, and nonaction suggest about the political meaning of the Dao, the Way governments should rule? How does this compare to Confucius's teachings?
  3. Augustine and Childhood: How does Augustine talk about the relationship between the world and God, sinning and the soul, in Book I?
  4. Augustine and The Pear Tree: How does Augustine talk about flesh and the soul, the lower and the higher good, human power and divine power in Book II?
  5. Augustine, Student at Carthage and Augustine Leaves Carthage for Rome: What is Augustine's attitude toward love, on the one hand, and the school of rhetoric, on the other hand, in Book III? What is Augustine's attitude, first, toward his students, and second, toward his mother in Book V?
  6. Augustine, Earthly Love and Conversion: What does Augustine say about his mistress in Book VI? Explain what Augustine means by continence and contrition in Book VIII.

5. Dante's Descent

Let's spend our first day discussing Dante's Inferno by looking for and at significant patterns across its sections. After you are individual assigned a canto, spend a few minutes answering the following questions:

  1. What literally and narratively happens in the canto?
  2. What does the canto convey about either Heaven and the True Path or Hell, Sin, and Punishment?
  3. How does Dante react to what he witnesses on his journey in the canto?

Here are the cantos:

6. Shonagon's Delights and Disgusts

Today, let's break into groups to conclude our discussion of Kantian ethics and begin our conversation about The Pillow Book.

  1. Group 1
    1. Kant: Does Ovid's Metamorphosis contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
    2. Shonagon, Sections 1, 2, 4 (NAWL 1252-5): What delights Shonagon and why? What breaks her heart and why?
  2. Group 2
    1. Kant: Does The Bhagavad-Gita contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
    2. Section 6 (NAWL 1255-7): What does the vignette about the cat and dog say about courtier politics?
  3. Group 3
    1. Kant: Does Confucius's Analects contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
    2. Shonagon, Section 20 (NAWL 1257-60): What status does poetry hold in court and why?
  4. Group 4
    1. Kant: Does Laozi's Daodejing contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
    2. Shonagan, Section 22, 30 (NAWL 1260-4): What dispirits Shonagon and why? What is the status of religion in the court?
  5. Group 5
    1. Kant: Does Augustine's Confessions contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
    2. Shonagon, Section 82 (NAWL 1265-71): What does the vignette about the old nun say about courtier attitudes toward appearances? What does the snow mountain vignette say about courtier values?
  6. Group 6
    1. Kant: Does Dante's Inferno contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
    2. Shonagon, Section 104, 144, 257 (NAWL 1271-3): What distresses, endears, and pleases Shonagon and why?

7. Shikibu Wrote What Now?

Let's begin our first day of discussion of Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji by reviewing some significant passages that paint a picture of marriage and relationships in tenth century Japan.

Next, let's discuss the following questions.

8. The Princely Morality

Today, let's divide into groups and delve into the politics and morality of ruling as advised by Niccolò Machiavelli. Here are the questions:

  1. First, explain Machiavelli's political advice.
  2. Then, consider the moral idea underlying the political consultation.
  3. Finally, explore how Machiavelli's political and/or moral understanding might change from a prince ruling a monarchy to an elected leader ruling a representative democracy.

Here are the groups:

  1. Princely Virtues (NAWL 1576)
  2. On Liberty and Parsimony (NAWL 1577-78)
  3. On Cruelty and Pity, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved or to Be Fears, and Vice Versa (NAWL 1578-80)
  4. In What Way Faith Should Be Kept by Princes (NAWL 1580-1)
  5. On Avoiding Contempt and Hatred (NAWL 1581-4)
  6. In What Way Flatterers Are to Be Avoided (NAWL 1589)

9. The Ethics of Caring for a Lunatic

Today, let's divide into groups to complete our discussion of the ethics of care and begin our discussion of Don Quixote. Here are the groups and questions:

  1. Concept: Select and discuss significant quotations that explain the ethics of care.
  2. Characters: Review the literature on our syllabus and discuss how two main characters employ the ethics of care.
  3. Narrator: Draw a brief character sketch (in writing) of the narrator and select two quotations to illustrate it.
  4. Don Quixote: Draw a brief character sketch (in writing) of the narrator and select two quotations to illustrate it.
  5. Sancho Panza: Draw a brief character sketch (in writing) of Sancho Panza and select two quotations to illustrate it.
  6. Reactions: Discuss how and why other characters, such as the innkeeper and the sex workers, react to Don Quixote, and select two quotations to illustrate your analysis.

10. The Tempest of Power Dynamics

For our final in-class group activity, let’s look at the vicissitudes of power in William Shakespeare's The Tempest.

  1. Prospero: What does Prospero’s monologue suggest about his feelings toward his brother, his books, and political power? (NAWL 1788: 1.2.88-116)
  2. Caliban: What does the exchange between Caliban and Prospero illuminate about the power dynamics of their relationship? (NAWL 1794-5: 1.2.330-374)
  3. Gonzalo: What does Gonzalo’s plan for colonization of the island indicate about his attitude toward European civilization, on the one hand, and new lands, on the other hand? (NAWL 1803: 2.1.142-163)
  4. Ferdinand and Miranda: What does Ferdinand and Miranda’s conversation reveal about relationships in terms of gender and power? (NAWL 1813-4: 3.1.33-86)

Research Project

While the in-class essay exams will test your comparative understanding of world literature and its predominant issues, the research project will compel you to delve deeper into an author's work, examine a text from a variety of perspectives, and collaborate with peers. Here are the components of the research project

  1. Sign Up: First, sign up for a text to research,
  2. Plan of Action and Working Bibliography: Then, read the text and then meet with your group to create a plan of action (meeting times, deadlines) and working bibliography (a 20-source MLA formatted list of scholarly journal articles and scholarly book chapters found using University Library Research Methods search processes, not Google, that also indicates which members are responsible for reading which sources) that each group member must submit to the professor at least two weeks before the presentation. Failure to submit the plan of action and working bibliography on time at GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Research Project will result in a 1/3 letter grade penalty.
  3. Annotated Bibliography: Next, group members should work on their own reading and annotating at least 4 scholarly journal articles and book chapters. Each annotation should be approximately 100 words long and describe 1) the topic of scholarly discussion, 2) the main idea, meaning, or conclusion as it relates to the work of literature, and 3) how the source helps your understanding of the work of literature. The OWL provides additional strategies of summarization, evaluation, and reflection as well as sample annotations. Each group member should submit their own 4 source annotated bibliography to GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Research project at any time on presentation day.
  4. 10-15 Minute Presentation and Slide Show: Finally, groups should meet to create a 10-15 minute presentation with accompanying slide show that highlights the results of their research. Do not just read your annotations but share patterns of critical interpretations and scholarly debates. Each group member should speak during the presentation and only one group member needs to upload the slide show to GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Research Project.
  5. Grade: Your research project grade will be based on your active participation in the group, the quality of your research and annotations, and the delivery of your part of the presentation. You can retrieve your graded assignment approximately one week after your presentation in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Research Project. Here's how to calculate your course grade.

Exam 1

The hybrid in-class / take-home essay exam compels you to memorize key issues and concepts, conduct comparative analyses about literary texts, and apply ethical understandings while providing the opportunity to develop you literary analysis argumentative polish and textual evidence.

 

The in-class component of the essay exam will be taken without textbooks or notes. You will be given three or four questions requiring you to compare and contrast literary meanings and issues among two or three literary texts and you will select one question to answer. You will be given one to three questions requiring you to address ethical issues among two or three literary texts and you will select one question to answer. You may not use any literary text in more than one essay. The OWL provides guidance for Writing Essays for Exams.

 

The take-home component of the essay exam will finalize the argument of the literary essay by polishing the thesis and argument, strengthening the structure, and adding quotations and other pertinent textual evidence to a 3-4 page MLA formatted essay. The in-class literary essay is the first draft and the take-home literary essay is the final draft. The final draft must maintain the literary texts being compared as well as the basic comparative argument. Take photos of your in-class first draft essay on Monday, September 16, and submit your take-home final draft essay to GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Exam 1 Literary Essay by Wednesday, February 25.

Literature

  1. Sappho, poems (NAWL 369-87)
  2. Aristophanes, Lysistrata (NAWL 446-506)
  3. Ovid, from Metamorphosis (NAWL 613-56)
  4. The Bhagavad-Gita (NAWL 706-24)
  5. Confucius, from Analects (NAWL 754-66)
  6. Laozi, from Daodejing (CITE 767-76)
  7. Augustine, from Confessions (NAWL 829-56)

Ethics

  1. Shafer-Landau, What Is Morality? (CITE 1-16)
  2. Shafer-Landau, Moral Reasoning (CITE 17-36)
  3. Shafer-Landau, Skepticism about Morality (CITE 37-59)
  4. Shafer-Landau, The Good Life (CITE 60-74)
  5. Shafer-Landau, Natural Law (CITE 75-91)

Topics

The class will brainstorm literary and ethical topics on Monday, February 9; and the professor will turn these topics in essay exam questions.

Preparation

Here is the recommended process for reading for class, taking notes during class, and studying for the exam.

  1. Read the assigned text.
  2. Annotate while reading (ideal) or take notes while reading (at minimum).
  3. Briefly summarize the text’s issues and pose a few questions.
  4. Take class notes on paper and type your notes at the end of each week (ideal) or take notes on your laptop (at minimum).
  5. Create an exam study guide by collecting your annotations, reading notes, and class notes into a series of half-page to one-page entries for each assigned text that will be on the exam.
  6. Write practice essays on the class generated literary and ethical topics every day for the week leading up to the exam. Here is a sample literary question: Select one gender and compare and contrast the social role of that gender in two literary works. What is the status of the gender and why? Here is a sample ethical question: First, briefly explain one ethical concept (such as moral reasoning, egoism, hedonism, or desire satisfaction theory); then, compare and contrast how that concept plays out in two literary texts.
    • Note: When discussing poetry by Saphho and maxims from Confucius and Laozi, be sure to provide evidence from the texts themselves rather than generic talking points.
    • Note: When discussing ethical concepts such as egoism and hedonism, be sure to provide working definitions and other evidence of understanding from Russ Shafer-Landau's textbook.

Grade

Your exam grade will be based on

  1. your demonstrated knowledge of the literary and ethical texts (show that you read and understand the literary texts by using key character traits, conflicts, settings, symbols, themes, and so forth; show that you read the ethical texts by using key concepts and terms; you do not need to quote the text),
  2. your interpretation of the literary texts' meanings and significance (analyze and explicate the literary works using quotations and other textual evidence),
  3. your application of the ethical texts to the literary texts' issues (use moral theory from the ethical works to comment on the literary works).

Exam 2

Same as Exam 1, but the take-home component will be the ethical essay.

Exam 3

Same as Exams 1 and 2, during the final exam time, no take-home components.

 

© Alex E. Blazer 2026