GERM230

[WesMaps Home Page] [Course Search] [Course Search by CID]

GERM230

The Simple Life GERM230 FA

Crosslistings: GELT230

Next Offered in 9899 FA

Beginning with the songs of shepherds in ancient Greece, the genre of pastoral literature evolved side by side with Western civilization, often idealizing the "simple life" as a contrast to sophisticated urban life, which was generally perceived as decadent. Related to this genre, but not bound by its conventions, are narratives about, and sometimes by, peasants, farmers, and other country folk who experience nature at first hand as they carry on an existence frequently characterized by unremitting physical labor, material deprivation or scarcity, and geographical limitation. In this course we will examine a wide selection of such narratives, both fiction and non-fiction, to discover the thematic and stylistic constants in portrayals of rural life, and to determine what values inform these narratives. Some attention will be given to the "blood and soil literature" of the Nazis.

MAJOR READINGS

Wernher the Gardner, FARMER HELMBRECHT
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, selections from EMILE
Jeremias Gotthelf, THE BLACK SPIDER
Knut Hamsun, GROWTH OF THE SOIL
Ole Rolvaag, GIANTS IN THE EARTH
Laura Ingalls Wilder, FARMER BOY and THE LONG WINTER
Edith Wharton, ETHAN FROME
Clara Winston, THE CLOSEST KIN THERE IS
Donald Hall, STRING TOO SHORT TO BE SAVED

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly short papers; one final project, which may be creative in nature.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Sophomores will be admitted during the Drop/Add period if spaces are available. Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Discussion Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: HA GERM

Prerequisites: None

Last Updated on MAR-03-1998

Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions.