LITR 482 -- SYLLABUS
Below you'll find the day-by-day readings and assignments over the course of the semester. The page numbers listed for a given day are those for which you will be responsible on that day (i.e., you'll need to have read them and be ready to discuss them for that day). Bring the book we are discussing to class each day for which it is assigned, as I will often (if not always) expect you to be able to back up any comments you make during our discussions with passages you can cite and/or read aloud to the class. Obviously, you can't do this well if you don't have your book with you. 
I intend to follow this syllabus as closely as possible for the duration of the semester, although changes may be necessary in unforeseen circumstances. Any changes that need to be made will be indicated on the course website, so bookmark that page and check back regularly if you're unsure about something. 
If you miss a day of class, it is your responsibility to get notes from one of your classmates, as well as checking with me for any relevant handouts from that day's class or find out information that was announced in class. I will provide links to certain material from the website, but you will not be able to substitute a day's attendance for simply downloading the materials there.
REQUIRED TEXTS
  • Anita Desai, Baumgartner’s Bombay
  • Amitav Ghosh, The Calcutta Chromosome
  • Mohsin Hamid, Moth Smoke
  • Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies
  • Gita Mehta, A River Sutra
  • Salman Rushdie, Shame
  • Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy
  • Manil Suri, The Death of Vishnu
  • Shashi Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel

 
AUG M 29 Bookkeeping, introductions, gathering of data
    W 31
 		Historical background discussion
 SEP  F 2 Literary historical background discussion
     M 5
 		LABOR DAY – NO CLASSES
W 7
 		Mehta, A River Sutra, pp. 1-52
F 9
 		Mehta, A River Sutra, pp. 53-137
    M 12
 		Mehta, A River Sutra, pp. 138-200
(BONUS: Born into Brothels showing at Cinema 10, starting at 7:15 p.m. at Potsdam Roxy Theater)
W 14 Mehta, A River Sutra, pp. 201-end
F 16 Desai, Baumgartner’s Bombay, pp. 1-64
M 19 Desai, Baumgartner’s Bombay, pp. 65-135
W 21
 		Desai, Baumgartner’s Bombay, pp. 136-180
F 23
 		Desai, Baumgartner’s Bombay, pp. 180-end
M 26 Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, pp. 17-74
W 28  Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, pp. 77-148
F 30  Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, pp. 151-217
OCT  M
 		3 Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, pp. 221-278
W 5
 		Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, pp. 281-335
F 7 Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, pp. 339-end
M
 		10
 		FALL BREAK -- NO CLASSES
W 12
 		Rushdie, Shame, pp. 1-68
F
 		14
 		Rushdie, Shame, pp. 69-150
M17
 		Rushdie, Shame, pp. 151-232
W 19 Rushdie, Shame, pp. 233-end
F
 		21
 		Ghosh, The Calcutta Chromosome, pp. 3-66
M 2 Ghosh, The Calcutta Chromosome, pp. 67-154
W 26 Ghosh, The Calcutta Chromosome, pp. 155-230
F 28 Ghosh, The Calcutta Chromosome, pp. 231-end
M 31
 		Selvadurai, Funny Boy, pp. 1-72
NOV   W 2 Selvadurai, Funny Boy, pp. 72-150
F
 		4
 		Selvadurai, Funny Boy, pp. 151-237
M 7
 		Selvadurai, Funny Boy, pp. 237-end
 W 9
 		Suri, The Death of Vishnu, pp. 13-84
F
 		11
 		Suri, The Death of Vishnu, pp. 85-149
M
 		14
 		Suri, The Death of Vishnu, pp. 150-224
Paper Proposals and Annotated Bibliography Due
W 16 Suri, The Death of Vishnu, pp. 225-end
F 18 Lahiri, “A Temporary Matter” and “When Mr. Pirazda Came to Dine” (pp. 1-42)
M 21
 		Lahiri, “Interpreter of Maladies” and “A Real Durwan” (pp. 43-82)
W-F
 23-25
 THANKSGIVING BREAK -- NO CLASSES
M 28
 		Lahiri, “Sexy,” “Mrs. Sen’s” and “This Blessed House” (pp. 83-157)
W 30 Lahiri, “The Treatment of Bibi Haldar” and “The Third and Final Continent” (158-end)
  DEC  F 2
 		Hamid, Moth Smoke, pp. 3-71
  M 5
 		Hamid, Moth Smoke, pp. 72-146
W
 		7
 		Hamid, Moth Smoke, pp. 147-194
Paper Due in class (NO EXTENSIONS)
F
 		9
 		Hamid, Moth Smoke, pp. 195-end
F
 16
 FINAL EXAM (10:15 a.m.-12:12 p.m.)