Cover page, Angare [Sparks] (Lucknow: Nizami Press, c. 1932). Link
Radical Fictions:
Literary Modernisms in South Asia
S ASIA 585/English 540
Winter 2024
TTh 1:30-3:20 PM PST
Instructor: Prof. Jennifer Dubrow
Office: M212 Gowen Hall [note: on Mezzanine level, above 2nd floor]
Email: jdubrow@uw.edu
Office Hours: W 4:30-5 PM, in M212 Gowen Hall (on mezzanine level, ABOVE 2nd floor) and by appointment.
Class Times and Place: TTh 1:30-3:20 PM in 282 Mary Gates Hall
Course description:
Required books:
The following 2 books are required for this course, both available at the UW bookstore (in order of their use in class):
1. Sajjad Zaheer, Ahmed Ali, Rashid Jahan, and Mahmud-uz-Zafar, Angaaray, trans. Snehal Shingavi (Gurgaon: Penguin Books, 2014).
2. Mohan Rakesh, Another Life: Thirteen Stories and a Play, ed. Carlo Coppola (New York: Harper Perennial, 2016).
All other readings will be made available through this website.
Course Objectives:
- To consider the development of literary modernisms in South Asia by focus on two traditions, the (mostly Urdu) Progressive Writers' Movement, and the "New Story" movement
- To become familiar with recent debates on world literature and how understandings of the world affect the study of modernisms
- To develop a critical perspective on major South Asian writers in Urdu and Hindi: the Angare group, Premchand, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Krishan Chander, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, and Mohan Rakesh
- To practice and develop strategies for presenting readings and leading class discussion
- To reflect on world literature/global modernisms pedagogy by designing a course description and 2 weeks of a syllabus for your own course on global modernisms
- To apply critical approaches to world literature and/or global modernisms to a text we read or a text relevant to your research, in a conference-length (12-15 pages double-spaced) essay
Course Requirements and Assessment
Student Responsibilities:
Students are responsible for carrying out assigned readings by the dates specified. Please have your copy of the reading available for you to use during class sessions. If for any reason you are unable to attend a class session, please find out from another student what was covered in that session. If you are ill, there is no need to contact the instructor; however, if you have a major illness or life event that will cause you to miss more than one class, please email me so that we may make any necessary arrangements. Please do let me know if a major life event happens during the quarter that you would like to discuss. Attendance will be taken in each class.
Note on Masks (for COVID-19):
Course Policies:
Students are expected to observe the following rules in class:
- Arrive in class on time so that other students are not disturbed;
- Refrain from conversing with fellow students while class is in progress;
- Turn off cell phones and other electronic devices;
- Do not use personal computers to cruise the Internet, read email, or engage in activities unrelated to class.
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity:
The University takes academic integrity very seriously. Behaving with integrity is part of our responsibility to our shared learning community. If you’re uncertain about if something is academic misconduct, ask me. I am willing to discuss questions you might have.
Acts of academic misconduct may include but are not limited to:
- Cheating (working collaboratively on quizzes/exams and discussion submissions, sharing answers, and previewing quizzes/exams)
- Plagiarism (using in your own work the creations, ideas, words, inventions, or work of someone else without formally acknowledging them through the use of quotation marks, footnotes, bibliography, or other reference)
- Unauthorized collaboration (working with each other on assignments)
Concerns about these or other behaviors prohibited by the Student Conduct Code will be referred for investigation and adjudication by (include information for specific campus office).
Students found to have engaged in academic misconduct may receive a zero on the assignment (or other possible outcome).
Student Conduct:
The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/Links to an external site.
Safety:
Call SafeCampus at 206-685-7233 anytime – no matter where you work or study – to anonymously discuss safety and well-being concerns for yourself or others. SafeCampus’s team of caring professionals will provide individualized support, while discussing short- and long-term solutions and connecting you with additional resources when requested.
Access and Accommodations:
Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course.
If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.eduLinks to an external site..
Religious Accommodations:
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/) (Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/) (Links to an external site.).