LNGC1427

This course examines the theme of childhood across world literature, as well as its use as a metaphor for self-knowledge. Topics include literary strategies, patterns and traditions; the relevance of formative experiences to cultural literacy and to critical and political engagement; gender; the separation from home; the myth of a disappearing traditional culture; and maturity and adulthood. Readings may include works by Saint Augustine, Patrick Chamoiseau, Jamaica Kincaid, Tobias Wolff, Stanley Cavell, J.M. Coetzee, and Maxime Hong Kingston.