How to Win the Nobel Prize in Literature

The history of the world’s most famous literary prize, the Nobel Prize in Literature, is one of scandal, secrecy, and prestige. Does the Nobel Prize really reward writers who confer the "greatest benefit on mankind"? What might the Nobel Prize teach us about reading and writing in our contemporary moment? In this seminar we will read texts from the most recent Nobel laureates: Kazuo Ishiguro, Olga Tokarczuk, Peter Handke, Louise Glück, and Abdulrazak Gurnah. We will examine how these diverse authors engage in creative writing and world-making through topics like migration, history, myth, culture, and ethnicity. We will also think broadly about the politics and value of literary prizes, world literature, translation, and the global literary marketplace.