21st CENTURY LITERATURE
2nd SEMESTER FINALS
WORLD LITERATURE
- Contains the best of what the world’s literature can offer;
often dominated by Western works
- Literature is something the world shares rather than just
looking at one nation, we must look at the world
 From the book ‘Werliteratur’ from German scholar
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Began to be understood as masterpieces of the West;
issues of canon marginalizing non-Western literature
- Is a question of representivity and is a battle of
perspectives
- Enable Readers To
 Apprehend and bridge differences in looking at these
experiences
 Shape a discerned perspective from where they
come from
- David Damrosch
 Wrote ‘What is World Literature’; states that world lit.
is a mode of circulation of reading
 3 Qualities Setting a Book Into Circulation
1. Artistic merit of the work; if it ever won an award
2. Political situation; if it came from an influential
country
3. Popularity; if it has been made into another media
form (ex. movies)
ISSUES IN WHAT CONSTITUTES AS WORLD LIT.
Inclusion/Exclusion
- Who gets included and who makes the inclusions
Frameworks/Contexts
- Problems of Language
 Translation does not completely transport the cultural
experience
 ‘How close are we to the context when we closely
read a work by an other’
 Comparativity: All implying the need for equality
West vs. Non-West
- The (West, Roman, Greek) canon vs. The New
(contemporary, produced in the West or wherever)
- Fluidities and Mobilities of literary production
CATEGORIES IN LOCATING WORLD LIT.
- Geographical/Continental
 Tradtional: Anglo-american, Afro-asian, Latin
American, European
 Contemporary: 3rd world literature, literature from
diaspora, Asian-american literature, literature of the
global south/north
 Global South: Tend to bear the brunt of the
effects of globalization; poor countries, formerly
called 3rd world
- Forms
 Traditional: Poetry, fiction, drama, essay
 Contemporary: Emergent exp, thematic concerns like
diversity, gender, political commentary
SPECULATIVE FICTION
- Off-shoot of popular science fiction genre; also known as
‘spec-fic’
- Defined as an expanded, open fiction typically dismissed
as genre fiction
- Prose works which speculate on the nature and direction
of human knowledge
BEGINNINGS OF SCI-FI
- Jules Verne: Father of Sci-Fi; because of works such as
‘From the Earth to the Moon’ and ‘20,000 Leagues Under
the Sun’
 Used scientific concepts in his works; making it
believable to the readers
 His fictional creations (submarine/lunar module) were
eventually able to turn into reality
Sub-Genres of Sci-fi
- Space Western: Sci-fi with western elements involved
- Cyberpunk: Juxtapose advanced technology with less
advanced, broken down society
© TAMARAY | 11-HUMSS/GA A
- Steampunk: Blends technology with steam-powered
energy
GENRES OF SPEC-FIC
- Fantasy Fiction
 Stories inspired by mythology and folklore; often have
mythological creatures
- Utopian Fiction
 Stories about organization of civilizations; perfect and
ideal, often satirical
- Supernatural Fiction
 Stories about secret knowledge and hidden abilities;
include witchcraft and spiritualism
- Dystopian Fiction
 Involve the government’s strict control, often involve
brainwashing; does not make use of any natural
disasters as an issue
- Space Opera
 A play on the ‘soap opera’; story takes place in space
with conflict involving romance/adventure
- Apocalyptic
 Takes place before and during a massive worldwide
catastrophe; typically a natural disaster
- Post-apocalyptic
 Focuses on groups of survivors after massive,
worldwide disasters
CORALINE
- Written by Neil Gaiman; centers around the adventure of
Coraline Jones as she enters the Other World
CHARACTERS
- Coraline Jones
 Titular character of the story; goes on an adventure
into the Other World created by the Beldam
 Daughter of Mel and Charlie Jones
- Mel Jones
 Mother of Coraline; often neglecting her daughter due
to work on her gardening catalogue
- Charlie Jones
 Father of Coraline; neglects Coraline due to work on
the gardening catalogue
 Shows more care for Coraline in comparison to Mel
- Wyborne Lovat
 Also known as ‘Wybie’; character who only appears
in the movie adaptation
 The grandnephew of one of the Beldam’s victims
- The Beldam
 Also known as ‘The Other Mother’; traps children in
her Other World and takes away their souls through
buttons
- The Cat
 The enemy of the Beldam; has the ability to jump
between the Real World and the Other World
 Helps Coraline in escaping and defeating the Beldam
- April Spink & Miriam Forcible
 Coraline’s neighbors from the basement apartment in
the Pink Palace
 Foreshadow Coraline’s fate with the Beldam through
fortune telling
- Mr.Bobinsky
 Coraline’s neighbor from the top-floor apartment; an
acrobat who trains mice
- 3 Ghost Children
 The children who traded their real eyes for buttons,
eventually eaten up by the Beldam
 Helped Coraline escape the Beldam
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
- Written by Afghan author Khaled Hosseini; follows the
story of Mariam and the challenges which follow her
throughout her life
 Excerpt shows contrast between women from her
village and the more modern Afghan women
- Burqa
 Depicted as symbol of oppression/subjugation of
Muslim women; tradtion/religion
CHARACTERS
- Mariam
 A child born out of wedlock; suffers shame
throughout her childhood because of the
circumstances of her birth
- Rasheed
 Antagonist of the novel; marries Mariam through an
arrangement
© TAMARAY | 11-HUMSS/GA A
 Mariam suffers years of domestic abuse at his hands

© TAMARAY | 11-HUMSS/GA A