CMLT 2500

As most of you know, I am a T.A. at the University of Georgia. I am working towards a M.A. in Comparative Literature. I really wish I had a dollar for every time I was asked to explain, what, exactly Comp Lit is. To be honest, it is a bit of a hazy concept. This, to me, is part of the beauty of Comp Lit; you can make it what you want. The official UGA Comp Lit page gives a very vague, fancy sounding answer that actually does not tell you a lot. My best explanation? You get to study literature without getting bogged down by tedious things like grammar- that's for the English department.

This semester I am teaching something a little lot out of my comfort zone- literature written after 1600. Sure, I like to read stuff written in this century, but that doesn't mean I want to teach it. Modern literature can be so subjective! Anyways, the official name of my class is Comparative Ethnic American Literature (have you noticed how good my department is at titles that don't actually give you a lot of information?). What does this mean? It is a class composed of books that are from different ethnic backgrounds but are all American. The protagonists in these books are working out their identities through their own cultural backgrounds. Which, really, is what we are all doing, every day of our lives. So far, the class has been going surprisingly well. I thought I would share with y'all these wonderful (thus far!) books that I would recommend for anyone.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok. Ethnicity: Jewish-American. This is a book about friendship between two boys in New York during WWII. The boys belong to different branches of Judaism, which is one area of tension the novel explores. Friendship, intelligence, suffering, and religion- this book packs a lot in 304 pages.

Sula by Toni Morrison. Ethnicity: African-American. This is a book about friendship between two girls in Ohio. It spans their lives, rather than just one specific period. A few issues explored- social norms, racism, poverty, parenting styles.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Ethnicity: Native-American. This book is about a boy who lives on a reservation but goes to school in the nearby town. There are neat illustrations in this book, adding a new dimension to the story. Some issues- poverty, alcoholism, racism, friendship.

The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston. Ethnicity: Chinese-American. I have not started reading this book yet, but it is more autobiographical than the others (with the possible exception of The Absolutely True Diary). Kingston weaves traditional Chinese folktales in with her own personal stories.

The Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. Ethnicity: Dominican-American. This is a story about a boy who wants to be the next J.R.R. Tolkien- what is not to love about that?! I have not started this one either but I have been wanting to read it for a while.

Fledgling Octavia Butler. This book is the one I am ending the semester with and it is a....wait for it.... vampire book. Yes, that kind of vampire. It explores issues of family, belonging, and experimental genetic mutation.

So, as you can see, it is going to be a very interesting semester. We are almost done with The Chosen. I will be putting up an official review on here in couple days. What is your favorite book exploring ethnic diversity? If you were teaching this class, what would your syllabus look like?