ENG560: Salman Rushdie

Rushdie, the multiple-award-winning author of Midnight's Children, The Satanic Verses and Haroun and the Sea of Stories, was twice named the "winner of all winners" on the 25th and 40th anniversaries of the Booker Prize. His novels are gargantuan in scope and history, though not always in length, and his combination of magical realism and historical fiction has won him both avid fans and furious critics. Midnight's Children follows the life of a group of children born on the night of India's independence, all of whom possess varying degrees of special powers. The Satanic Verses, his most controversial work, was perceived by some as anti-religious and drew a fatwa from Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. The ensuing diplomatic tension between the U.K. and Iran indicates both Rushdie's profile and the magnitude of the response to the threats to his free speech. He sets his work in India and Pakistan and explores the experiences of migrants, political figures, religious authorities and ordinary folk. Writing assignments will include analytical and creative essays.