LIN-2907: UNIVERSAL LITERATURE

ENGLISH PROGRAM-UPNFM
II QUARTER 2024

INSTRUCTOR: Tevyn E. Padilla Ulloa

INSTRUCTOR’S EMAIL: tpadilla@upnfm.edu.hn
CLASS SCHEDULE: Monday to Friday, 6:00pm – 7:00pm. Asynchronous.

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

This course has the purpose of introducing the student to the study of universal literature focusing
on relevant and determining historical events in different regions worldwide. The main objective
is to provide the students not only the pragmatic knowledge about literature around the world but
also to give them the chance to analyze the different ways of expressing (short stories, novels,
essays, poetry, articles, and others) as a consequence of historical moments.

PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE
The student is required to be familiar with knowledge related to the process of analysis and
evaluation of different forms of literary expression such as stories, segments of novels, poems,
essays and plays as well as literary movements and narrative components such as plot,
characterization of characters, point of view, place, theme, motive, conflict, symbol, and allegory
of language. It is also necessary for the student to know about stylistic resources such as
metaphor, hyperbole, simile, personification, alliteration, rhythm, meter, sound, meaning, idea,
tone, symbol, paradox, irony, allusion, assonance, and consonance.

GENERIC COMPETENCIES
1. Capacity for analysis and synthesis
2. Ability to know a foreign language
3. Ability to work in a team
4. Ability to coexist in peace, promoting respect for diversity, multiculturalism, and human
rights.
5. Ability to demonstrate ethical commitment.
6. Ability to promote in students the development of autonomous, critical and creative
learning throughout life.

SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES
1. Ability to demonstrate communicative competence through situations of academic, social
and/or cultural interest using strategic, discursive, sociolinguistic, and grammatical
elements.
2. Ability to recognize the value and role of literary texts and use them to interpret and reflect
on the perspectives of our culture and others.

SUB-COMPETENCIES
1. Learn about the different forms of literary expression in different regions of the world.
 2. Identify various historical events by region and their influence on the literature and society
of the time.
3. Properly use the methodological instruments in the analysis of each text studied.
4. Understand the development of various literary styles, forms and techniques by the
authors studied.
5. Incorporate valid attitudes and criteria into their personal training that allow them to
internalize the link between literature and the socio-historical-cultural context.

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

Here is a list of the readings and their authors for you to look them up. All readings can be found
on Google by typing the title and author. However, due to Copy Right they will not be posted on
the platform.

Useful links:
https://ciudadseva.com/
http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
https://allpoetry.com/

In case you are having trouble finding a reading, please, ask in the group, your classmates or
teacher might be able to help.

Readings (in order of appearance):

• The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (Read Canto I)
• El Casamiento Engañoso by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (short story)
• Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare (poem)
• Ozymandias by Percy Shelley (poem)
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Opening Letters only)
• When we two parted by Lord Byron (poem)
• Lenore by Edgar Allan Poe (poem)
• The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (poem)
• La gallina degollada by Horacio Quiroga (short story)
• A Dog’s Tale by Mark Twain (short story)
• El pájaro azul by Rubén Darío (short story)
• A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka (short story)
• Las nubes by Froylán Turcios (poem)
• Ausencia by Jorge Luis Borges (poem)
• El otro by Jorge Luis Borges (short story)
• Poema XX by Pablo Neruda (poem)
• Todos Santos, Día de Muertos by Octavio Paz (essay)
• Axolotl by Julio Cortázar (short story)
• Chac Mool by Carlos Fuentes (short story)
• Un alma pura by Carlos Fuentes (short story)
 • Muerte constante más allá del amor by Gabriel García Márquez (short story)
• Frente al mar by Elvira Sastre
• Repetition by Phil Kaye
• From Blossoms by Li-Young Lee
• Looking for The Gulf Motel by Richard Blanco
• Sweetness by Stephen Dunn

DAILY ROUTINE AND PREPARATION FOR AN ASYNCHRONOUS CLASS

The content for each week will be available on the platform. It is your responsibility to organize
your time accordingly to complete your work. Each week you will have a set of videos with
instructions for the week, a pre-reading video and an after-reading video. The pre-reading video
will contain context necessary to better understand the reading. The after-reading video will
contain reflection questions for you to answer in the weekly forum which will be graded. Reflection
questions can be subjective, meaning there is not one right answer; however, to achieve a
satisfactory grade, your answers must be justified (examples from the reading, historical facts,
literary analysis, etc.). Some of the material you read may be in Spanish but all discussions, and
evaluations will be in ENGLISH. The class is asynchronous, which means we will not meet as a
class unless deemed necessary, but you can request Zoom meetings with your instructor or in-
person meetings in the department; send an email to schedule an appointment.

GRADING
Item Grade
3 Tests (15% each) 45%
Essay: Cover Page & Introduction 5%
Essay: Body & References 5%
Essay: Conclusions 5%
Essay: Complete Paper Submission 15%
Weekly Reflections 25%
Total 100%
*THERE WILL NOT BE MAKE UP EVALUATIONS OR EXTRA WORK JUST BECAUSE YOU
GOT A LOW GRADE.

Tests: you will have 4 tests of 15% each. Each test will be 1 hour long and will cover the
content of the corresponding weeks. Tests will be done through the platform. The test will be
available from 12:00am on the corresponding Friday until 11:59pm on that same Friday.

Extended Source-Based Argument: 25% of your final grade will depend on an argumentative
essay on which you are going to work from week 9 until week 14. You must choose a topic from
the following list and create your own thesis statement:
• Gender roles: How are the roles of men and women portrayed in the story of your
choosing? Are they distinctly different? Do they have equal rights? What gender
expectations do they follow or fight against?
• Comparisons between genres: How does each genre tell its story? What are the
differences and similarities between the two? Is one more effective than the other?
• Historical background: Who is the author and what is their story? Were there
controversies associated with him/her or their work? What is the significance of this
novel in the time it was written? How does it reflect the society and beliefs of its time?
 • Politics: What issues in politics does this story/poem address? Discrimination? Rights?
Equality?
• Religion: How is this novel religious? What beliefs is it promoting or questioning?
• Comparisons between two characters: This can be between characters in the same
story/poem or two different ones. How are their differences and similarities important to
the story/poem?
• Comparisons between two stories/poems: If the stories/poems seem completely
different but represent the same genre or come from the same time period, this may be
something you want to explore.
• Allusions within the story/poem: What are some significant allusions within the
story/poem? These could be religious, refer to other novels, poems, stories, or authors,
etc. How is this important to understanding the story/poem and its place in English
Literature?
• Criticism: What are some of the most notable criticisms out there? What is your
response and how does it compare to other critics out there?
• Symbolism: What are important symbols in the story/poem? How are they significant?

The essay must contain:

• Cover page: follow APA format, no colors, no pictures, no logos, no frames, or any kind
of decoration.
• Introduction: half a page stating the topic of your research paper, importance of the
topic, and brief background of previous studies developed.
• Body: three pages in which your topic will be developed in detail.
• Conclusions: half a page reviewing the topic discussed and findings from the literature
reviewed for this paper.
• Reference list: include at least 5 academic references that must be cited in your
research paper. The reference list must be at the end of your paper and have a page of
its own. Follow APA to write your reference list and make sure to use reliable sources.
• Format: the whole research paper should follow APA format (even reference list). Font
must be Times New Roman 12 throughout the whole text. Double-spaced the whole
essay (no extra space between paragraphs). Indentation at the beginning of every
paragraph. 1in. margins (usually that is the default measurement in Word). Text justified
to the left.
*The rubrics for each part of the research paper and final submission will be given as
we approach week 9.

Weekly Reflections: Each week you will be assigned a set of reflection questions to answer in
the week’s forum. To achieve the complete grade you must answer the questions using facts,
experience and/or examples from the text. Answers not appropriately justified will be marked as
wrong. You must also respond to at least one other post made by your classmates for a complete
grade.

BEWARE: PLAGIARISM IS TAKEN SERIOUSLY IN THIS CLASS. ANY KIND OF

PLAGIARISM (COPYING AND PASTING FROM CLASS SLIDES, AI APPS, YOUR
CLASSMATE, OR GOOGLE) WILL RESULT IN A TOTAL GRADE OF 0% IN THE
EVALUATION WHERE THE INCIDENT OCCURS, IT DOESN’T MATTER IF THE REST OF
THE ANSWERS ARE CORRECT.
EXCUSES FOR EVALUATIONS
You have ONE week after an evaluation to provide a proper excuse in case something of major
importance occurs which prevents you from completing your evaluations. The teacher will let you
know through when an evaluation has been checked, it is entirely your responsibility to keep track
of your grades in the platform. If you are not able to find your grade after the teacher has
announced that the evaluation has been checked, let the teacher know of the issue on that day,
there will not be a make-up evaluation for issues not reported on time.

WEEK CONTENT
WEEK 1
---------------
MAY 16-17
WEEK 2
---------------
MAY 20-24
MIDDLE AGES / RENAISSANCE
• Dante Alighieri
WEEK 3
MAY 27-31 • Miguel de Cervantes
• William Shakespeare
• Weekly Reflection #1 due on Friday at 11:59pm

ROMANTICISM
• Percy Shelley
• Mary Shelley
WEEK 4
• Lord Byron
JUNE 3-7
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Weekly Reflection #2 due on Thursday at 11:59pm
• TEST #1 DUE ON FRIDAY AT 11:59PM
REALISM / MODERNISM
• Horacio Quiroga
WEEK 5 • Mark Twain
JUNE 10-14
• Ruben Darío
• Franz Kafka
• Froylán Turcios
• Weekly Reflection #3 due on Friday at 11:59pm
AVANT-GARDE
• Jorge Luis Borges
WEEK 6
• Pablo Neruda
JUNE 17-21
• Octavio Paz
• Weekly Reflection #4 due on Thursday at 11:59pm
 • TEST #2 DUE ON FRIDAY AT 11:59PM

LATIN AMERICAN BOOM

• Julio Cortázar
WEEK 7
• Gabriel García Márquez
JUNE 24-28
• Carlos Fuentes
• Weekly Reflection #5 due on Friday at 11:59pm

CONTEMPORARY
• Elvira Sastre
• Phil Kaye
WEEK 8 • Li-Young Lee
JULY 1-5
• Richard Blanco
• Stephen Dunn
• Weekly Reflection #6 due on Thursday at 11:59pm
• TEST #3 DUE ON FRIDAY AT 11:59PM
EXTENDED SOURCE-BASED ARGUMENTATIVE
WEEK 9 ESSAY
JULY 8-12 • Cover & introduction. Due on Friday at 11:59pm
• Weekly Reflection #7 due on Friday at 11:59pm
EXTENDED SOURCE-BASED ARGUMENTATIVE
ESSAY
WEEK 10
JULY 15-19 • Body & references. Due on Friday at 11:59pm
• Weekly Reflection #8 due on Friday at 11:59pm
WEEK 11
JULY 22-26 BREAK
EXTENDED SOURCE-BASED ARGUMENTATIVE
WEEK 12 ESSAY
JULY 29 – • Conclusion. Due on Friday at 11:59pm
AUGUST 2
• Weekly Reflection #9 due on Friday at 11:59pm
EXTENDED SOURCE-BASED ARGUMENTATIVE
WEEK 13 ESSAY
AUGUST 5-9 • Submit final revised paper. Due on Friday at 11:59pm
• Weekly Reflection #10 due on Friday at 11:59pm
WEEK 14
• Final inquiries regarding grades.
AUGUST 12-16
 WEEK 15
SUBMISSION OF GRADES
AUGUST 19-21

*Due dates might change in case of unexpected events, your teacher will let you know of
any rescheduling.

MAIN REFERENCES

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). The world standard in knowledge since 1768.
Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com

From the creators of SPARKNOTES, something better. LitCharts. (n.d.).

https://www.litcharts.com

Pfordresher, J., Veidemanis, G. V.; McDonnell, H. (1989). England in literature (Classic).

Scott, Foresman and Co.

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). Title of resource. Purdue Online Writing Lab.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html

SparkNotes. (n.d.). SparkNotes. https://www.sparknotes.com