Introduction to Module

As you have read so far in this course, conflict can influence many aspects of life. World Literature represents not only how globally humans react or consumed with conflict but also how they choose or reject conformity. When exploring the written or spoken words that resonate such ideas, conformity represents the “process whereby people change their beliefs, attitudes, actions, or perceptions to more closely match those held by groups to which they belong” (Britannica). Delving further into the reactions or emergence of such notions while reading the following works will forge appreciation for the connectiveness shown in varied cultures---how they all conform or reject notions of identity, cultural expectations grown out of conflict, or gender roles and expectations. Voices are clearly defined through awareness and addressment of difficult or strange new conditions in Part One of this module, as you will see in some of the shorter works: Thomas More's Utopia, Salman Rushdie's The Perforated Sheet, W.B. Yeats' poems Easter 1916 & The Second Coming.

Part Two resembles extraordinary or new suggestions or revelations about gender roles from different writers, both male and females: Henry Ibsen and his revealing gender role plays in A Doll’s House was revolutionary; Hanan Al-Shaykh’s The Swimming Pool short but moving and directive; and William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily that peels away the layers of the misunderstood Southern American Woman who deals with conformity in a unique, disturbing fashion. By studying these texts, you will evaluate the influence of personality variables, gender expectations, and cultural influence all determine conformity no matter from which culture they originate.

Objectives

Understand how concepts such as conformity, gender roles, cultural expectations, and identity have been portrayed and examined in world literature
Explore one of the works in Module 3 more deeply by writing or creating a short literary analysis piece
Practice close reading via social annotation with your peers
Explore the idea of utopia and social reform through readings and discussion with your peers

Readings

You may choose to use the links provided within Pressbooks (an open source content management system), or download the text in parts and reference the page numbers listed accordingly:

Part 1: Conflict and Conformity

Selections from the Qur’an (632-651), Middle Eastern, World Lit I, Part 2, page 259.
Utopia, by Thomas More (1477-1535), English, World Lit I, Part 3, page 321.
“The Perforated Sheet”, by Salman Rushdie (1947 - ), Indian, World Lit Vol 6, page 634.
“Easter 1916” and “The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats (1865-1939), Irish, World Lit Vol 5, page 2134.

Part 2: Gender Roles and Expectations

A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), Norwegian, World Lit Vol 5, page 1572.
“The Women’s Swimming Pool”, Lebanese, by Hanan Al-Shaykh (1945-), World Lit vol 6, page 633.
"A Rose For Emily", by William Faulkner (1897-1962), American

Assignments at a Glance

Short Critical Response paper on either "The Second Coming"
Discussion on Social Reform and Utopian Vision
Social Annotation on "A Rose for Emily"