Course Catalog

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Course Catalog

ANCIENT GREEK LITERATURE (CL3113)

Fulfills the classical antiquity period requirement for the major in Comparative Literature. Overview of Greek literature from its beginnings to the brilliant intellectuals of the Roman Empire. Tracks the creation of literary forms like lyric, tragedy, and novel. Points out contexts and discourses that nourished this grand enterprise, the invention of literature. Presents great works and their reception until today, yet also the rare gem that makes you see why it is worthwhile to return to the roots. Authors considered include Homer, Sappho, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Plato, and Plutarch. May be taught in together with CL 2013. Suitable for Classicsbridge or CL original language option.

IMPERIAL ROME: PHILOSOPHY, LITERATURE, SOCIETY (CL3114)

Studies the Greek and Latin literature of the Roman Empire. Readings will include: Seneca, star prose writer and poet of tragedies that impressed Shakespeare; Lucanus’ anti-Aeneid; Petronius’ Satyrica, the first Latin novel; Tacitus, the dark historian; witty epigrams and biting satire; a speech On Magic; the Stoics Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, one an ex-slave, the other an emperor; and Plutarch’s account of Antony's love for Cleopatra

KEY TEXTS: SOCRATES, SOPHISTS, AND THE STAGE (CL3116)

A grand tour of 5th cent. BCE Athens, a fascinating time of intellectual unrest and innovation. Readings include the founding fathers of drama (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides), Old Comedy (Aristophanes), fragments of the Greek sophists, the historiographers Herodotus and Thucydides, Xenophon’s Recollections of Socrates and early Platonic dialogues, such as the Apology and the Phaedo.

EMPIRE AND INDIVIDUAL: FROM ALEXANDER TO CAESAR (CL3117)

A tour through 300 years of Greek and Roman history and shifting multiethnic empires, from the death of Alexander to the death of Cleopatra (30 BCE). We read a lot: overviews of the Hellenistic Age and the Roman Republic as well as original works by Menander, Epicurus, Cleanthes, Callimachus, Theocritus, Aratus, Apollonius Rhodius, Polybius, Plautus, Terence, Ennius, Sallustius, Cicero, Caesar, Lucretius, Catullus, and others.

FICTION WRITING WORKSHOP (CL3200)

Whether a story is an imaginative transformation of life experience or an invention, the writing must be well crafted and convincing, driven not only by plot and theme but also through characterization, conflict, point of view, and sensitivity to language. Students produce and critique short stories and novel chapters while studying fiction techniques and style through examples.

CREATIVE NONFICTION: CRAFTING PERSONAL NARRATIVES (CL3300)

This workshop gives students the opportunity to explore through reading, research and writing assignments an array of creative nonfiction forms, including memoir, travel writing, food and nature writing, and social essays. Assignments help students strengthen their ability to create the self as character, a first-person narrator who leads the reader into the world of personal experiences and research. The course explores narrative structure, description, characterization, dialogue, and tension, all key elements in making writing spirited and appealing. The workshop also includes guest speakers and field exercises in Paris. May be taken twice for credit.

LITERARY TRANSLATION AND CREATIVE WRITING (CL3400)

This workshop offers an introduction to literary and cultural translation between French and English. Students encounter, through practical exercises, key differences between French and English linguistic and cultural forms, and find ways to resolve and explore these differences in their literary translation and in their creative writing. Practice in translation is supplemented by reflection on translation.

EDITORSHIP (CL3850)

This course is designed for students involved in editing, writing and producing The Planet and The Peacock. It offers basic instruction and hands-on experience in newspaper and magazine composition. The course will cover everything that comes up in the process of producing a publication, from reporting, writing and editing to page design to working according to a production schedule. A constant concern will be the challenge facing print editors in the Internet age: how to create reader-friendly publications that are informative and attractive enough to appeal despite the draw of the Web. The production of The Planet and The Peacock will be the main work of the course.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE TOPICS (CL3910)

TOPICS VARY BY SEMESTER