IB World Literature Syllabus

IB English III: World Literature

Course Description
Welcome to IB English III. This is the first of two courses intended to prepare you for the IB English examinations. The objective of this course is to build upon your knowledge of literature while strengthening both your oral and written powers of expression. During the course of this year, we will examine a variety of world literature while exploring a diversity of discussion styles and techniques. The activities and assignments in this class are designed to guide you towards and prepare you for two IB assessments – the World Literature paper and the Oral Presentation. In the process of preparing for the exams, it should be our aim to push the limits of our boundaries to explore and embrace new ideas and philosophies.

Distinction between AP Language and IB English
As an IB English III student, you should also be enrolled in AP Language and Composition. These two classes, in combination, are designed to paper you for success on your future exams. The primary distinction between the two classes is the focus on oral vs. written training. While IB English III is focused primarily on literary analysis and oral communication, AP Language and Composition is focused on developing a wide variety of writing styles through the study of non-fiction pieces. Throughout the course of the year, your AP Language teacher and I will be working together to plan assignments and monitor your progress.

Course Readings
Because of the importance of referring to and marking your texts, you will be required to purchase the first semester books and highly encouraged to purchase the second semester works. You will need to keep these texts for use during the year and for reference next year. First semester books will be ordered and purchased at the beginning of the school year. You can expect to spend approximately $30 on first semester book purchases. Books will be available for list price from the teacher before the due date, but books may also be purchased independently. Used books stores and Amazon.com offer good deals on all of these texts should you choose to purchase elsewhere, which is encouraged.

First Semester
Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman (Chile, translated from Spanish)
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (Chile, translated from Spanish)
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh (North Viet Nam, translated from Vietnamese)

Summer Reading
Siddartha by Herman Hesse (Germany, translated from German)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (England)

First Semester Supplementary
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas J. Foster

Second Semester
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (United States)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (England)
Song of Soloman by Toni Morrison (United States)
The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami (Japan, translated from Japanese)

We will also be reading various poetry and short stories throughout the year.

Course Policies
1. This is an IB course, and as such it will be demanding. Students are expected to be prepared every class period with necessary readings, homework, journal prompts, or other assignments completed. Classes will often be discussion based and your preparation is integral to your success, and your ideas will be useful springboards for other’s thoughts.
2. Plagiarism of any kid is not tolerated. Do not use the internet to gather your thoughts about a text, as not only will you be passing off someone else’s (possibly mediocre) thoughts as your own, but you will be robbing yourself of one of the most important parts of studying literature: how it expands your mind. This is especially an important part of an IB course, as IB emphasizes creativity and originality in responses to texts.
3. Communication with me is important. Shoot me an e-mail or stay for coach class if you are having problems. I will allow one extension per year on any major paper (except for your Link Essay), as long as it is communicated to me 48 hours before the due date. You will have to remain well-organized to balance this course with your other work this year.
4. On occasion, you will be asked to contribute to an online discussion. If you have computer problems, please use available computers in the school and classroom, and/or let me know as soon as possible.
5. This is a course of ideas, and it’s important to remain respectful of others’ ideas even if they do not mesh with your own. Please remain tactful in all discussions.
6. I adhere to all school policies, and please be sure to keep cell phones turned off, to consume only water in the classroom, and to follow the dress code.

My After-School Schedule
Mondays: Not available (Towson MAT program course)
Tuesdays: Coach Class for 10th grade (though can see IB 3 by appointment)
Wednesdays: Study Hall (add ½ of a percentage point onto your grade for staying for an hour)
Thursdays: Coach Class for 11th grade (though can see 10th grade by appointment)
Fridays: By appointment

About International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a rigorous pre-university course of studies, leading to examinations, that meets the needs of highly motivated secondary school students between the ages of 16 and 19 years. Designed as a comprehensive two-year curriculum that allows its graduates to fulfil requirements of various national education systems, the Diploma model is based on the pattern of no single country but incorporates the best elements of many. The programme is available in English, French and Spanish.

The curriculum is displayed in the shape of a hexagon with six academic areas surrounding the core. Subjects are studied concurrently and students are exposed to the two great traditions of learning: the humanities and the sciences.

About the Language A1 Programme
The Language A1 programme is primarily a pre-university course in literature. It is aimed at students who intend to pursue literature, or related studies, at university, as well as at students whose formal study of literature will not continue beyond this level. The former would normally follow the Higher Level (HL) programme and the latter the Standard Level (SL).

Literature is concerned with our conceptions, interpretations and experiences of the world. The study of literature, therefore, can be seen as a study of all the complex pursuits, anxieties, joys and fears that human beings are exposed to in the daily business of living. It enables an exploration of one of the more enduring fields of human creativity and artistic ingenuity, and provides immense opportunities for encouraging independent, original, critical and clear thinking. It also promotes a healthy respect for the imagination and a perceptive approach to the understanding and interpretation of literary works. The discussion of literature is itself an art which requires the clear expression of ideas both orally and in writing.

The Language A1 programme encourages students to see literary works as products of art and their authors as craftsmen whose methods of production can be analysed in a variety of ways and on a number of levels. This is achieved through the emphasis placed on exploring the means used by different authors to convey their subjects in the works studied. It is further reinforced by the comparative framework emphasized for the study of these works in all parts of the programme.

The flexibility of the programme allows teachers to choose challenging works from their own sources to suit the particular needs and interests of their students. It also allows teachers to participate significantly, through the internally assessed oral component, in the overall assessment of their students.

World Literature
‘One of the most effective and humanizing ways that people of different cultures can have access to each other’s experiences and concerns is through works of literary merit.’
(Salma Jayyusi, The Literature of Modern Arabia)

In view of the international nature of the IBO, the Language A1 programme does not limit the study of literature to the achievements of one culture or the cultures covered by any one language. The study of World Literature is important to IB students because of its global perspective. It can play a strong role in promoting a ‘world spirit’ through the unique opportunities it offers for the appreciation of the various ways in which cultures influence and shape the experiences of life common to all humanity.

The World Literature element of the Language A1 programme does not aim to cover the history of literature or the so-called ‘great works’ of humanity. It does not aim to equip students with a ‘mastery’ of other cultures. It is envisaged as having the potential to enrich the international awareness of IB students and to develop in them the attitudes of tolerance, empathy and a genuine respect for perspectives different from their own.

Aims
The aims of the Language A1 programme at both Higher and Standard Levels are to…
• encourage a personal appreciation of literature and develop an understanding of the techniques involved in literary criticism
• develop the students’ powers of expression, both in oral and written communication, and provide the opportunity of practising and developing the skills involved in writing and speaking in a variety of styles and situations
• introduce students to a range of literary works of different periods, genres, styles and contexts
• broaden the students’ perspective through the study of works from other cultures and languages
• introduce students to ways of approaching and studying literature, leading to the development of an understanding and appreciation of the relationships between different works
• develop the ability to engage in close, detailed analysis of written text
• promote in students an enjoyment of, and lifelong interest in, literature.

Objectives
Having followed the Language A1 programme at Higher Level (HL) candidates will be expected to demonstrate…
• an ability to engage in independent literary criticism in a manner which reveals a personal response to literature
• an ability to express ideas with clarity, coherence, conciseness, precision and fluency in both written and oral communication
• a command of the language appropriate for the study of literature and a discriminating appreciation of the need for an effective choice of register and style in both written and oral communication
• a sound approach to literature through consideration of the works studied
• a thorough knowledge both of the individual works studied and of the relationships between groups of works studied
• an appreciation of the similarities and differences between literary works from different ages and/or cultures
• an ability to engage in independent textual commentary on both familiar and unfamiliar pieces of writing
• a wide-ranging appreciation of structure, technique and style as employed by authors, and of their effects on the reader
• an ability to structure ideas and arguments, both orally and in writing, in a logical, sustained and persuasive way, and to support them with precise and relevant examples.

Syllabus outline
Higher Level
The Higher Level IB syllabus is divided into four compulsory parts.
Total number of works: 15
Part 1 World Literature 3 works
Three World Literature works studied as a group.
 Each work chosen from the IB Prescribed World Literature List (PWL) only.
 All works linked by one or more aspects such as culture, genre, theme, period, style, type of literary study, methodology.
 Each work originally written in a language different from the Language A1 studied.
 Each work written by a different author.

Part 2 Detailed Study 4 works
 Four Language A1 works studied in detail.
 Each work chosen from a different genre category on the IB Prescribed Book List (PBL) for the Language A1 studied.
 Each work written by a different author.

Part 3 Groups of Works 4 works
 Three Language A1 works and one World Literature work studied as a group.
 All four works chosen from the same genre category.
 All three Language A1 works chosen from the PBL for the Language A1 studied.
 World Literature work ‘chosen freely’ and linked at least by genre to Language A1 works.
 Each work written by a different author.


Part 4 School’s Free Choice 4 works
 Three Language A1 works and one World Literature work studied as a group.
 All four works ‘chosen freely’.
 World Literature work linked to Language A1 works by one or more aspects such as culture, genre, theme, period, style, type of literary study, methodology.
 Each work written by a different author.