Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach.

Nobel Prize lessons – Literature prize 2021

Abdulrazak Gurnah

Teacher’s guide

A Swedish version of the lesson is available at nobelprizemuseum.se

This is a step-by-step timetable for the Nobel Prize lesson – a ready to use lesson on the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature. The lesson is designed to take 45 minutes.

Stories of a refugee’s experience
2021 Nobel Prize laureate in literature Abdulrazak Gurnah has written both novels and short stories. His first book came out in 1987, and his breakthrough was the 1994 novel Paradise. Refugees’ experience of displacement and life in exile are recurring themes in Gurnah’s writing. The characters in his books are often caught in the gap between cultures and continents, between the life they’ve lived and the one that awaits them. 

Teacher’s Guide (PDF 30Kb)

1. Warm-up (5 min)
Ask your students the following questions.

  • What is the Nobel Prize?
  • Why is it called the Nobel Prize?
  • Are you familiar with any Nobel Prize laureate?

2. Show the video about Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize (5 min)

3. Slideshow (15 min)
Show the slides, using the speaker’s manuscript.

Slideshow (PDF 2,8 MB)

Speaker’s Manuscript (PDF 300 Kb)

4. Show the interview with an expert in the field  (2 min). (Will be published later on.)

5. Student worksheet (10-15 min)
Let your students work individually with the questions and then discuss their answers with a classmate.

Student Worksheet (PDF 70 Kb)

6. Conclusion (5 min)
Summarise what you and the class have understood, and what you have not understood. You can work with the latter on another occasion.

Links for further information
Biobibliographical notes – Abdulrazak Gurnah


To cite this section
MLA style: Nobel Prize lessons – Literature prize 2021. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Sat. 5 Oct 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel-prize-lessons-literature-2021/>