Assignments

ENGL 2110 World Literature, Fall 2025

Section 09: 12:00-12:50 p.m., Arts & Sciences 155

Section 04: 1:00-1:50 p.m., Arts & Sciences 155

In Class Activities

1. Lysistratic Nonaction aka Sex Strike!

Today, let's begin our discussion of Aristophanes's Lysistrata by break into groups of 4-5 students to meet some peers and break down the play's representation of gender and sexuality. Groups should respond to their assigned group number and elect a secretary to share, orally, their work with the class.

1. Discuss the characters' attitudes toward men, men's roles and male sexuality. Select 2-3 passages demonstrating these attitudes.
2. Discuss the characters' attitudes toward women, women's roles and female sexuality. Select 2-3 passages demonstrating these attitudes.
3. Given the ironic tone of the play, what is the play's attitude toward men's roles and male sexuality? Select 2-3 passages demonstrating these attitudes.
4. Given the ironic tone of the play, what is the play's attitude toward women's roles and female sexuality? Select 2-3 passages demonstrating these attitudes.
5. What ideas does the play convey about marriage on the one hand and war on the other hand?

2. Connections, Conversions, and Queries

Today, let's break into Research Project Groups to meet fellow group members, break down a section of Ovid's Metamorphosis, and practice creating class discussion questions. Elect a secretary to share the results of your groups three tasks:

1. Examine the key relationship conflict in the section.
2. Explore the key transformation in the section, both metaphorically and thematically.
3. Pose another question for class discussion.

Here are the groups:

1. Apollo and Daphne
2. Jove and Io
3. Ceres and Proserpina
4. Iphis and Isis
5. Pygmalion
6. Venus and Adonis

3. Self and Sacrifice

For today's class on The Bhagavad-Gita, let's break into groups (with secretaries taking notes to share with the large class) to discuss the key philosophical and moral ideas discussed by Arjuna and Lord Krsna.

• Chapter One: Discuss Arjuna's reaction to entering the field of battle, especially his moral thoughts on family and war.
• Chapter Two: How does Lord Krsna describe wisdom, self/soul, body, and the cycle of birth, life, and death? What is Lord Krsna message to Arjuna regarding the warrior's duty and just war?
• Chapter Three: How does Lord Krsna describe the relationship between self/soul and action? What is Lord Krsna's messages to Arjuna regarding action and sacrifice, and senses and attachment?
• Chapter Six: According to Lord Krsna, what does a yogi control, and what is the end result of that control?
• Chapter Eleven: What does Arjuna learn about the Supreme Self, and what does Sanjaya say Arjuna learned from the Great Soul? According to Lord Krsna, how might his divine form be seen by Arjuna?

4. From Chinese Philosophy to Christian Autobiography

Today, let's complete our discussion of Confucius and Laozi and begin our discussion of Augustine with directed questions to be answered by our six research project groups.

1. Laozi and the Spiritual Way: What do Laozi's repeated use of terms like emptiness, nothingness, and nonaction suggest about the spiritual meaning of the Dao, the Way individuals should cultivate themselves? How does this compare to Confucius's teachings?
2. Laozi and the Political Way: What do Laozi's repeated use of terms like emptiness, nothingness, and nonaction suggest about the political meaning of the Dao, the Way governments should rule? How does this compare to Confucius's teachings?
3. Augustine and Childhood: How does Augustine talk about the relationship between the world and God, sinning and the soul, in Book I?
4. Augustine and The Pear Tree: How does Augustine talk about flesh and the soul, the lower and the higher good, human power and divine power in Book II?
5. Augustine, Student at Carthage and Augustine Leaves Carthage for Rome: What is Augustine's attitude toward love, on the one hand, and the school of rhetoric, on the other hand, in Book III? What is Augustine's attitude, first, toward his students, and second, toward his mother in Book V?
6. Augustine, Earthly Love and Conversion: What does Augustine say about his mistress in Book VI? Explain what Augustine means by continence and contrition in Book VIII.

5. Dante's Descent

Let's spend our first day discussing Dante's Inferno by looking for and at significant patterns across its sections. After you are individual assigned a canto, spend a few minutes answering the following questions:

1. What literally and narratively happens in the canto?
2. What does the canto convey about either Heaven and the True Path or Hell, Sin, and Punishment?
3. How does Dante react to what he witnesses on his journey in the canto?

Here are the cantos:

• Canto I The Dark Wood of Error (NAWL 993-8): Peyton Antwine / Emma Kate Noggle / Owen Beasley
• Canto II The Descent (NAWL 998-1002): Rachel Brooks / Reese Pascual / Daijah Brock / Nick Lanford
• Canto III The Vestibule of Hell (NAWL 1002-7): Caro Brousseau / Kendall Roberts / Emily Buck / Harris Martin
• Canto IV Circle One: Limbo (NAWL 1008-11): Lizzy Cariochi / Robert Smith / Maggie Connerly Grace McVay
• Canto V Circle Two: The Carnal (NAWL 1012-6): Aidan Conrad / Lana Spraley / Natalie Correa / Brooklyn Moore
• Canto VI Circle Three: The Gluttons (NAWL 1016-9): Joe Dickman / Da'Vian Street / Connor Cramer / Sunita Oliver
• Canto VII Circle Four The Hoarders and the Wasters / Circle Five: The Wrathful and the Sullen (NAWL 1019-24): Gracie Elloy / Jillian Thompson / Constantine Dallis / Alex Sabathne
• Canto IX Circle Six: The Heretics (NAWL 1024-8): Victoria Garland / Heidi von Kleydorff / Andrew Daniel / Sarah Smith
• Canto XI Circle Six: The Heretics (NAWL 1028-31): Kendall Graham / Micah Witcher
/ Hunter Ellis / Francisco Sotomayor
• Canto XII Circle Seven: Round One: The Violent against Neighbors (NAWL 1032-6): Dylan Greer / Megan Young / George Heidacher / Hilton Stinson
• Canto XVII Circle Seven: Round Three: The Violent against Art. Geryon (NAWL 1036-40): Caroline Heidacher / Eli Mullen / Hannah Hollingsworth / Rorey Vanderford
• Canto XVIII Circle Eight (Malebolge): The Fraudulent and Malicious / Bolgia One: The Panderers and Seducers / Bolgia Two: The Flattererss (NAWL 1041-5): Marilyn Ingram / Sid Hughes / Alexis King
• Canto XIX Circle Eight: Bolgia Three: The Simoniacs (NAWL 1045-9): Brode LaFrance / Maddox Israel
• Canto XX Circle Eight: Bolgia Four: The Fortune Tellers and Diviners (NAWL 1049-53): Lindsay Larroude / Carter Joachim

6. Shonagon's Delights and Disgusts

Today, let's break into groups to conclude our discussion of Kantian ethics and begin our conversation about The Pillow Book.

1. Group 1
   1. Kant: Does Ovid's Metamorphosis contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
   2. Shonagon, Sections 1, 2, 4 (NAWL 1252-5): What delights Shonagon and why? What breaks her heart and why?
2. Group 2
   1. Kant: Does The Bhagavad-Gita contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
   2. Section 6 (NAWL 1255-7): What does the vignette about the cat and dog say about courtier politics?
3. Group 3
   1. Kant: Does Confucius's Analects contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
   2. Shonagon, Section 20 (NAWL 1257-60): What status does poetry hold in court and why?
4. Group 4
   1. Kant: Does Laozi's Daodejing contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
   2. Shonagan, Section 22, 30 (NAWL 1260-4): What dispirits Shonagon and why? What is the status of religion in the court?
5. Group 5
   1. Kant: Does Augustine's Confessions contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
   2. Shonagon, Section 82 (NAWL 1265-71): What does the vignette about the old nun say about courtier attitudes toward appearances? What does the snow mountain vignette say about courtier values?
6. Group 6
   1. Kant: Does Dante's Inferno contain any moral duties, hypothetical imperatives, or categorical imperatives?
   2. Shonagon, Section 104, 144, 257 (NAWL 1271-3): What distresses, endears, and pleases Shonagon and why?

7. Shikibu Wrote What Now?

Let's begin our first day of discussion of Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji by reviewing some significant passages that paint a picture of marriage and relationships in tenth century Japan.

• The Warden: "When all is said and done, we men really should consider picking a completely childlike, compliant woman . . . a woman we can mold into an acceptable and flawless wife" (NAWL 1297)
• The Warden: "It is folly for a wife to resent her husband, display her anger, and quarrel obsessively over some little affair he has had on the side. A man's affections may stray, but so long as he is still capable of the kind of feelings he had for her when they were first married, then she has good reason to think that their relationship has strong emotional bonds. If she makes a big fuss over his dalliances, however, those bonds may be cut for good." (NAWL 1298)
• The Warden: "I cannot continue putting up with you the way you are now. If you reform and develop a more steady disposition, then maybe we can see each other." (NAWL 1301)
• The Warden: "Women are just like that . . . their beauty passing out of season." (NAWL 1302)
• Tō no Chūjō: "She was so wretched worrying over the baby girl I had fathered by her that she sent me a wild pink, suggesting, I suppose, that the child was like the flower, hidden from sight and easy to overlook." (NAWL 1304)
• Genji: "I know this will sound like a bizarre request, but would you do me the kindness of asking the girl’s grandmother to consider allowing me to take charge of the child? I have good reasons for this request. I do call upon my primary wife from time to time, but we really don’t get along so well, and I live alone for the most part. You may not consider her the proper age for such an arrangement, and you may thing I am motivated by some common, base desire. But if you do, you are being unkind and dishonoring my intentions." (NAWL 1313)
• The Narrator: He couldn’t get the girl out of his mind, and he was curious to see what that little shoot of grass would look like when she was fully grown. (NAWL 1319)
• The Nun: "Still we cannot fathom your future intentions, and even though we should feel happy on occasions like this when you visit us, we remain extremely hesitant about your proposal . . . after all, the girl is simply not appropriate for you. Her character is immature and undeveloped, even for someone her age." (NAWL 1326)
• Genji: "You may be right [. . .] but just what do you think I’m going to do with someone so young? Carefully observe the sincerity of my feelings, the purity of my heart, and you will realize that they are peerless, that you will find nothing like them in this world." (NAWL 1327)
• The Narrator: At around the time of the procession Fujitsubo left the court and withdrew to her own residence. As always, Genji sought out every opportunity to see her, and consequently he was subjected to complaints from the Minister of the Left’s household that he never visited his wife. Moreover, he learned that his wife was more distressed than usual because one of her attendants had reported to her that Genji had plucked a certain "wild grass"—meaning his little Murasaki—and that "he was keeping her in his villa at Nijō."
  Genji: It's natural she would feel upset [. . .] since she knows nothing at all about the situation or how young Murasaki is. Even so, why can’t she just tell me how she feels and vent her resentments like a normal woman? I could then speak without reserve, tell her all the things I feel in my heart and put her mind at ease. But no, she has to be so damnably suspicious all the time. It’s no wonder I find myself conducting these illicit affairs. (NAWL 1335)
• Murasaki: So he's my husband, is he? The attendants here all have husbands, but they’re really ugly. Mine on the other hand, is a dashing handsome young man. (NAWL 1337)

Next, let's discuss the following questions.

• What do men expect from relationships and marriage?
• What do women expect from relationships and marriage?
• What are some of the implicit rules in the relationship and/or marriage contract?
• How might social contract theory inform the relationship and marriage contracts described in The Tale of Genji?
• How do you respond to the relationship and marriage contracts described in The Tale of Genji?

Research Project

While the in-class essay exams will test your comparative understanding of world literature and its predominant issues, the research project will compel you to delve deeper into an author's work, examine a text from a variety of perspectives, and collaborate with peers. Here are the components of the research project

1. Sign Up: First, sign up for a text to research,
2. Plan of Action and Working Bibliography: Then, read the text and then meet with your group to create a plan of action (meeting times, deadlines) and working bibliography (a 20-source MLA formatted list of scholarly journal articles and scholarly book chapters found using University Library Research Methods search processes, not Google, that also indicates which members are responsible for reading which sources) that each group member must submit to the professor at least two weeks before the presentation. Failure to submit the plan of action and working bibliography on time at GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Research Project will result in a 1/3 letter grade penalty.
3. Annotated Bibliography: Next, group members should work on their own reading and annotating at least 4 scholarly journal articles and book chapters. Each annotation should be approximately 100 words long and describe 1) the topic of scholarly discussion, 2) the main idea, meaning, or conclusion as it relates to the work of literature, and 3) how the source helps your understanding of the work of literature. The OWL provides additional strategies of summarization, evaluation, and reflection as well as sample annotations. Each group member should submit their own 4 source annotated bibliography to GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Research project at any time on presentation day.
4. 10-15 Minute Presentation and Slide Show: Finally, groups should meet to create a 10-15 minute presentation with accompanying slide show that highlights the results of their research. Do not just read your annotations but share patterns of critical interpretations and scholarly debates. Each group member should speak during the presentation and only one group member needs to upload the slide show to GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Research Project.
5. Grade: Your research project grade will be based on your active participation in the group, the quality of your research and annotations, and the delivery of your part of the presentation. You can retrieve your graded assignment approximately one week after your presentation in GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Research Project. Here's how to calculate your course grade.

Exam 1

The first in-class essay exam will be taken without textbooks or notes. On the first day of the exam, you will be given three to six questions requiring you to compare and contrast literary meanings and issues among two or three literary texts and you will select one question to answer. On the second day of the exam, your will be given one to three questions requiring you to address ethical issues among two or three literary texts and you will select one question to answer. You may not use any literary text in more than one essay. On Monday, September 15, the class will determine three or four literary topics from which the professor will create essay questions. The OWL provides guidance for Writing Essays for Exams.

Literature

1. Sappho, poems (NAWL 369-87)
2. Aristophanes, Lysistrata (NAWL 446-506)
3. Ovid, from Metamorphosis (NAWL 613-56)
4. The Bhagavad-Gita (NAWL 706-24)
5. Confucius, from Analects (NAWL 754-66)
6. Laozi, from Daodejing (CITE 767-76)
7. Augustine, from Confessions (NAWL 829-56)

Ethics

1. Shafer-Landau, What Is Morality? (CITE 1-16)
2. Shafer-Landau, Moral Reasoning (CITE 17-36)
3. Shafer-Landau, Skepticism about Morality (CITE 37-59)
4. Shafer-Landau, The Good Life (CITE 60-74)
5. Shafer-Landau, Natural Law (CITE 75-91)

Topics

The class will brainstorm literary and ethical topics on Monday, September 15; and the professor will turn these topics in essay exam questions.

• literary topics
  • gender roles
  • differing views of society and culture
  • war and war protest
  • religion and spirituality, such as solitude and peace
  • sexuality and power
• ethical topics
  • moral responsibility of characters in literary texts
  • compare and contrast how two moral theories apply to literary texts
  • apply moral reasoning to literary texts

Preparation

Here is the recommended process for reading for class, taking notes during class, and studying for the exam.

1. Read the assigned text.
2. Annotate while reading (ideal) or take notes while reading (at minimum).
3. Briefly summarize the text’s issues and pose a few questions.
4. Take class notes on paper and type your notes at the end of each week (ideal) or take notes on your laptop (at minimum).
5. Create an exam study guide by collecting your annotations, reading notes, and class notes into a series of half-page to one-page entries for each assigned text that will be on the exam.
6. Write practice essays on the class generated literary and ethical topics every day for the week leading up to the exam. Here is a sample literary question: Select one gender and compare and contrast the social role of that gender in two literary works. What is the status of the gender and why? Here is a sample ethical question: First, briefly explain one ethical concept (such as moral reasoning, egoism, hedonism, or desire satisfaction theory); then, compare and contrast how that concept plays out in two literary texts.

Grade

Your exam grade will be based on

1. your demonstrated knowledge of the literary and ethical texts (show that you read and understand the literary texts by using key character traits, conflicts, settings, symbols, themes, and so forth; show that you read the ethical texts by using key concepts and terms; you do not need to quote the text),
2. your interpretation of the literary texts' meanings and significance (analyze and explicate the literary works)
3. your application of the ethical texts to the literary texts' issues (use moral theory from the ethical works to comment on the literary works).

Revision Opportunity

In order to allow students to demonstrate correct knowledge of the content and appropriate analysis of the issues, students who earned between a D- and a C+ on Exam 1 have the opportunity to revise one essay from the exam to potentially increase their Exam 1 grade by one letter grade based upon the quality of the revision (for example, a C+ could be raised to a maximum of a B+). If you choose to revise,

1. Select either the Literature or the Ethics essay.
2. Revise the exam essay into 4-5 page MLA formatted essay that addresses the exam feedback, hones your thesis, strengthens your structure, and supports your argument with quotations from our textbooks.
3. Include two brief paragraphs after the revision essay: first, a revision statement declaring what you changed from the exam essay to the revised essay and, second a stuty statement declaring how you plan to prepare for the second exam differently from the first exam.
4. Submit your revised essay, revision statement, and study statement (all in one document) to GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Exam 1 Revision by Wednesday, October 15. Revised essays that do not include the revision statement and study statement will receive no credit.
5. Your revised essay will be graded in accordance with the criteria of Exam 1 (knowledge, interpretation, application) as well as thesis, organization, and evidence. Depending on the quality of your revised essay, up to 1 letter grade will be added to your Exam 1 grade.

Exam 2

The second in-class essay exam will be taken without textbooks or notes. It will cover literature and ethics on the syllabus after Exam 1. On the first day of the exam, you will be given three to six questions requiring you to compare and contrast literary meanings and issues among two or three literary texts and you will select one question to answer. On the second day of the exam, your will be given one to three questions requiring you to address ethical issues among two or three literary texts and you will select one question to answer. You may not use any literary text in more than one essay. On Wednesday, October 22, the class will determine three or four literary topics from which the professor will create essay questions. The OWL provides guidance for Writing Essays for Exams.

Literature

1. Dante, from The Divine Comedy: Inferno (NAWL 989-1109)
2. Li Bo, poetry (NAWL 1220-5, 1232-4)
3. Du Fu, poetry (NAWL 1226-31, 1235-6)
4. Shonagon, from The Pillow Book (NAWL 1239-74)
5. Shikibu, from The Tale of Genji (NAWL 1275-1411)
6. Nagast, from The Glory of Kings (NAWL 1481-99)

Ethics

1. Shafer-Landau, Consequentialism (CITE 92-108)
2. Shafer-Landau, Kantian Ethics (CITE 109-29)
3. Shafer-Landau, Social Contract Theory (CITE 130-44)
4. Shafer-Landau, The Ethics of Prima Facie Duties (CITE 144-56)

Topics

The class will brainstorm literary and ethical topics on Wednesday, October 22; and the professor will turn these topics in essay exam questions.

• literary topics
  • gender
  • social hierarchy
  • religion
  • nature
  • self-awareness and self-reflection
  • consequences of actions and conflicts
• ethical topics
  • compare and contrast how two moral theories apply to literary texts

Preparation

Here is the recommended process for reading for class, taking notes during class, and studying for the exam.

1. Read the assigned text.
2. Annotate while reading (ideal) or take notes while reading (at minimum).
3. Briefly summarize the text's issues and pose a few questions.
4. Take class notes on paper and type your notes at the end of each week (ideal) or take notes on your laptop (at minimum).
5. Create an exam study guide by collecting your annotations, reading notes, and class notes into a series of half-page to one-page entries for each assigned text that will be on the exam.
6. Write practice essays on the class generated literary and ethical topics every day for the week leading up to the exam. Here is a sample literary question: Select one gender and compare and contrast the social role of that gender in two literary works. What is the status of the gender and why? Here is a sample ethical question: First, briefly explain one ethical concept (such as moral reasoning, egoism, hedonism, or desire satisfaction theory); then, compare and contrast how that concept plays out in two literary texts.
   1. Note: When discussing poetry by Li Bo and Du Fu, be sure to provide evidence from the poems themselves rather than generic talking points about their poems in general.
   2. Note: When discussing ethical concepts such as utlitarianism and categorical imperatives, be sure to provide working definitions other evidence of understanding from Russ Shafer-Landau's textbook.

Grade

Your exam grade will be based on

1. your demonstrated knowledge of the literary and ethical texts (show that you read and understand the literary texts by using key character traits, conflicts, settings, symbols, themes, and so forth; show that you read the ethical texts by using key concepts and terms; you do not need to quote the text),
2. your interpretation of the literary texts' meanings and significance (analyze and explicate the literary works)
3. your application of the ethical texts to the literary texts' issues (use moral theory from the ethical works to comment on the literary works).

Exam 3

The complete exam parameters (in class, closed book, no notes, one comparative essay on the first exam day and a second comparative essay on the second exam day) and study preparation suggestions will be detailed a few weeks before the exam.

Recommended: OWL: Writing Essays for Exams

The exam parameters will be detailed a few weeks before the exam.