This is a one year course intended as a survey of "Western Literature", meaning it gives a broad view of the classic texts considered literary in the (so-called) West.
Updated 09/04/2022
Welcome to Ron's Moodle! This is a place where I can park my class info, share media with students, organize and evaluate assignments, etc., etc. Inside are my syllabi and info for the courses I'm teaching this semester. Here's a brief explanation of how to use the site:
- First, a.s.a.p. sign up for an account using the email you gave the school when registering for classes. Second, go to your email account and click on the link my website sent to you, confirming your registration. Third, come back here and sign in and create a profile. Please use your in-class (pinyin or English) name as your main handle, the one you want to be called by me in class. *For example, Wang Wen-hsing and Tim Wang.* However, also please input your 中文姓名 AND your student ID. Fourth, for Address you can input your department and year of study (e.g., 夜外三). All this helps me to keep track of you and assign grades.
- Once you have done the steps above, navigate to the course(s) you are taking with me. Near the bottom of the page there should be an option to "enrol me in class." Click that and you should be able to access the course schedule, texts, and materials we'll be using this semester.
- Any questions, can either use the messaging app of this site or email me: ron [at] ronentity.net
Meeting ID: 234 924 3020
Passcode: rF8a39
Available courses
| The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the genre of detective fiction in a globalized cultural field. Since this genre tends to focus on the individual (the detective) and has taken on so many different localized forms in countries around the world, the course also tries to explore the ways detective fiction can be understood from a number of interesting comparative standpoints. The structure of the course (see below) also tries to give a (roughly chronological) overview of detective fiction first, as it has grown up in the United States, and second, as it has developed outside the US, from England to Argentina, and Japan. | ||||
Over the past decade or so, a growing number of writers have identified their work with the genre called “weird fiction” – a kind of writing that is distinctive from horror, science fiction, or fantasy, but shares certain features with all of these established literary types. By introducing these writers and the debates surrounding the weird, this course aims to provide students with (1) a broad understanding and definition of the function of literary genres and “genre fiction,” (2) the basic outlines of a historical genealogy of fantastic literature, and (3) an overview of the most important theoretical approaches to such work. Short fiction will account for about 70% of the readings, literary theory for the remaining 30%.