[ENGL 552] Nepali Literature in English

Course Title: Nepali Literature in English

Course Description

This course focuses on the representative works of Nepali literature originally written in English as well as translated into English. It covers a wide range of topics, including resistance, change, nation-state, modernity, diaspora and voices from margins.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Develop a comprehensive knowledge of Nepali literature, culture, and society.
• Explore constitutive relationships between literary imagination and national imaginary.
• Trace the evolution and development of social, political, and cultural values as reflected in and shaped by literary works.
• Interpret literary expressions within the broad historical context.

Course Contents

Unit I: Mirroring the Nation(s) (12 Hours)

1. Lekhnath Paudyal, "A Parrot in a Cage"
2. Mohan Koirala, "An Introduction to the Land"
3. Bhupi Sherchan, "To the Children of Quails, Partridges, and Sacrificed Oxen"
4. Bhawani Bhikshu, "Maujang Babusaheb's Coat"
5. Ramesh Bikal, "The Splendid Buffalo"
6. Dhrubachandra Gautam, "The Fire"
7. Pushkar Shamsher, "Circumstantial Evidence"
8. Laxmi Prasad Devkota, "The Magic Circle Is Broken"
9. Diamond Shamsher Rana, The Wake of the White Tiger

Unit II: Resistance, Change and Modernity (9 Hours)

1. Laxmi Prasad Devkota, "The Lunatic"
2. Siddicharan Shrestha, "The Untouchable"
3. Gopal Prasad Rimal, "A Mother's Dream"
4. Haribhakta Katuwal, "A Wish"
5. Krishnabhusan Bal, "April Wind"
6. Manju Kanchuli, "A Strange Temple"
7. Abhi Subedi, "The Soft Storm" from Forever Arriving
8. Ahuti, "Life of a Mirror" from Dancing Soul of Himalayas
9. DB Gurung, "Letter from Foreign Grave"
10. Prema Shah, "A Husband"
11. Nayan Raj Pandey, "Candy"
12. Parashu Pradhan, "The Telegram on the Table"
13. Manjushree Thapa, "Love Marriage"
14. Mani Dixit, "Come Tomorrow"

Unit III: Life, Nature, and Love (9 Hours)

1. Balkrishna Sama, "Man Is God Himself"
2. Banira Giri, "Time, You Are Always the Winner"
3. Shreedhar Lohani, "By a Teashop at Khani Khola"
4. Dhuswan Sayami, "An Idol Outgrows"
5. Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, "Recurrences"
6. Bishweshwor Prasad Koirala, "The Soldier"
7. Sushma Joshi, "After the Floods"
8. Parijat, "The Son Who Was not Mine"
9. Guru Prasad Mainali, "A Blaze in the Straw"
10. Ananda P. Shrestha, "A Day in Tansen"

Unit IV: Voices from Margins (12 Hours)

1. Shrawan Mukarung, "The Antique Man"
2. Yukta Bajracharya, "Raised by Mom"
3. Itisha Giri, "When I Have a Daughter"
4. C.M. Bishwakarma, "Remembrance"
5. Bhagyanath Gupta, "A Pop Drama"
6. Gobinda Bahadur Malla Gothale, "What Are You Doing Shobha?"
7. Rajendra Bimal, "The Postmortem"
8. Shradha Ghale, "The Deeper Catastrophe"
9. Madhav Ghimire, Ashwatthama

Unit V: Creative Interfaces: Nepalis, Foreigners, and Nepali Diasporas (6 Hours)

1. Wayne Amtzis, "The Stomach Suffers from Lack" from LA.LIT
2. Eleanor Walsh, "The Blessing Dust"
3. Diane Smith, "Reaping Tomorrow"
4. Indra Bahadur Rai, "Maina's Mother Is Just Like Us"
5. Muna Gurung, "Pep Talk"
6. Khem Kumar Aryal, "Laxman Sir in America"
7. Michel Piessel, "Tiger for Breakfast"
8. Samrat Upadhyay, "Nepali Writing in English: Home and Abroad"

Evaluation Scheme

Internal Evaluation

External Examination

Prescribed Text

Hutt, Michael James, trans. Himalayan Voices: An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature. U of California P, 1991.