Prizing Literature: Nobel Prizewinners and Their Works

Description

This course will focus on a selection of authors who have won the Nobel Prize in Literature, looking at their lives and works. We will also examine the history of the Nobel Prize in Literature, with a brief overview of all past winners and an opportunity to discuss why we "prize" literature in the first place.

Course Takeaway

• Participants will be introduced to the somewhat quirky history of the Nobel Prize in Literature and its winners over the years.
• We will explore the work of six winners in some detail, concentrating on the shorter mediums of poetry and short stories.
• We will discuss why we value literature and what it means to award prizes to writers, especially for the Nobel, which prizes writers and not individual works.
• Participants will select a "Nobel buddy," a particular winner, on whom to focus some of their individual reading. They will also have a chance to do some show-and-tell on these writers in class.

Scholarship

Apply for a needs-based scholarship to take this offering.