Literature, Nature, and the Manmade

In this course we will explore the relationship between literature, nature, and the manmade. Modern and contemporary writers have had a difficult relationship with nature and the natural world because, since Enlightenment, technology, architecture, and economy have made and mediated that world decisively. And yet, authors have flirted with the idea of nature, unsullied or not, as entangled with the literary form. We will also explore those entanglements in the works of Western and non-Western authors such as Joseph Conrad, Franz Kafka, Premchand, Manik Bandopadhyay, Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Mongo Beti, Phaswane Mpe, and others. 3 hrs. lect./disc.