This course will explore “modern literature,” broadly defined as books written between 1500 and 1950. In addition to the books on the list below, we will read short excerpts from related authors. The course will involve in-class discussion as well as weekly written assignments designed to increase our ability to respond imaginatively, critically and with full awareness about literature, its themes, and how they relate to our own lives.
The primary booklist* for this course is:
Kafka, Franz, “The Metamorphosis”
Steinbeck, John, Cannery Row
Hurston, Zora Neale, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Woolf, Virginia, To the Lighthouse
Orwell, George, 1984
Hemingway, Earnest, The Old Man and the Sea
Beckett, Samuel, “Waiting For Godot”
Shakespeare, William, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
*This list may be supplemented by other short readings and/or additional texts as the course proceeds. These additional items will be covered by the existing course fee.
Instructor: Jay Leeming
Instructor Bio: Jay Leeming is a poet and performance storyteller who has spent years brinigng the power of the spoken word to audiences in theaters, schools, libraries and National Parks. He is the author of three collections of poetry, the creator of the Crane Bag Podcast, the former editor of the journal Rowboat: Poetry in Translation and the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. More information about his work as well as recordings of his performances of the Epic of Gilgamesh, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” numerous Norse myths and the Odyssey can be found at http://www.JayLeeming.com.
Required Materials: pen or pencil; one notebook to be used for notes and in-class writing assignments and a second notebook to serve as a commonplace book to be periodically handed in; TEEN DAY will provide copies of all texts necessary for this course
Additional Materials Fee: estimated cost of $60 to cover the cost of books (final costs TBD)
TEEN DAY Ithaca 