Our world is created through stories. In this class (Great Works 2850, in case you forgot), we will read a cross section/sample of riveting works of literature from the 17th century to the present. It will be beautiful. I love these texts, these books, this world—so be ready to nerd out. We are going to read across genres—novels, poetry, bits of memoirs, short stories. Hopefully, we can watch some movies, look at some art, and hold class discussions digging into art, literature, and politics, and everything in between. You’ll learn how to speak and write about literature using proper literary terminology without sacrificing your own voice and personal style in the process. We will reconstruct the socio-historical and cultural contexts of the texts we read. We are going to do a lot of scaffolded bits of writing to help us build to the bigger final essays. I’m looking forward to a great semester.

An important note: The literature that you will be introduced to in this course is not a simple data bank of plot, symbol, and character but instead a complex world that demands that its readers slow down and sit with the texts. It is imperative that you take your time, read, re-read, read aloud. You’ll need to remain curious and open-minded and be okay with feeling frustrated or bored with the literature at times—this isn’t about being constantly entertained. I will try my best to keep it interesting, but it requires you to keep up with the reading. Through an active engagement with the literature, I’d like for you to become better close readers and in turn, better listeners and better articulators. Overall, aim to read and respond to the literature carefully, critically and imaginatively. 

 

Essentials

Course Title: ENG 2850 Great Works II (Fall 2022)

Professor: Sharanya Dutta (pronouns: she/her)

Class Time and Location: TBA

Office Hours: By appointment (please email me!)

Email:  Sharanya.Dutta@baruch.cuny.edu/sharanyadutta1992@gmail.com

 

About Me

My name is Sharanya Dutta, and I am currently a 5th year PhD student in English Literature at the Graduate Center, CUNY. I was born and raised in India and did my undergraduate and masters degrees there. I moved to the US in 2018 for my PhD and have been teaching at Baruch since 2019. My doctoral research is on contemporary South Asian novels and theory. I also love (in no particular order) dogs, hiking, desserts (both baking and eating), reading, and music.