The course introduces students to a few major works of literature that have influenced their own times and continue to have an impact on our understanding of the modern world and its cultures. The works selected for the course have significantly shaped methodologies used by literary scholars to approach, evaluate and understand other works of literature. Although written in different geographies, depicting diverse situations, the following works are all variants of literary genres associated with the modern world. This course aims to afford students an opportunity to learn broader critical reading strategies and ways to approach texts.