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Course Catalog

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE TOPICS (CL1910)

TOPICS VARY BY SEMESTER

TOUCHSTONES OF WORLD LITERATURE (CL2033)

Using Asia as a geographic rather than a linguistic or cultural marker, this course provides a survey of landmark literary texts drawn from some four millennia of creative activity on the continent, beginning with the earliest surbviving literary epic from Mesopotamia and including classics from ancient India, Arabia, Persia, Japan, and China, to the Ottoman Empire.

TWO FRENCH CLASSICS (CL2046)

By promoting careful analysis of two landmarks of French literature while building skills in language and cultural semantics, oral and written communications, this course aims at helping students weave together literary meaning and cross-cultural belonging. By becoming more familiar with French literary language and mindscapes, students will further their understanding of L’Esprit français, the special relationship between literature and culture, writers and intellectual history in France.
The choice of works and pairings will differ every year according to the instructor’s interests.

ENGLISH LITERATURE BEFORE 1800 (CL2051)

Begins with Old English literary texts, then examines selections from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the conventions of Middle English drama and lyrics, earlier Renaissance styles of lyric poetry (Wyatt, Surrey, Sidney), and then Shakespeare's sonnets and a major Shakespeare play. Reviews the dominant styles of Metaphysical and Cavalier poetry (Donne, Herbert, Marvell, Crashaw, Suckling, Waller, Milton).

ENGLISH LITERATURE SINCE 1800 (CL2052)

From the Romantic period, covers major examples of: prose - the transition from the 19th century models to Modernist experimentation; poetry - the development of modern poetic form and the fortunes of European hermetic influence in an increasingly politicized century; and drama - examples of absurdist and left-wing drama which have dominated the British stage since the 1950s.

THE GOLDEN AGE IN SPAIN AND EUROPE (CL2053)

Examines the legacy of the Golden Age in Spain: popular ballad, love lyric picaresque novel, mystic poetry, psychological tale, classical drama, and moral satire. Readings include La Celestina, Garcilaso de la Vega, Lazarillo de Tormes, Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Calderon, and Quevedo, concentrating on their sources and influence across Europe. Written work accepted in English or Spanish.

Fulfills the Renaissance period requirement for the major in Comparative Literature. Original language option.

MODERN LATIN AMERICAN & SPANISH LIT. (CL2054)

Traces modern continental and Latin American literature from the Molieresque comedy of Moratin to the magical realism of Garcia Marquez. Readings include Spanish authors (fiction by Galdos, Unamuno, Cela, Goytisolo), Spanish-American writers (poetry of Neruda, Paz and tales by Borges, Rulfo), and one Brazilian writer (Clarice Lispector). Conducted in English. Written work accepted in English or Spanish.

SAINTS & SINNERS IN THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE (CL2055)

Presents a panorama of pre-modern Italian poetry, prose, and drama within their European context. Readings include: early religious and erotic lyrics (Sicilians, Tuscans, and Stilnovists), Inferno (Dante), Rime (Petrarch), Decameron (Boccaccio), the fiction and drama of Machiavelli, the love sonnets of Michelangelo, the Socratic dialogues of Tasso, and the Utopian fiction of Campanella.

Fulfills the Renaissance period requirement for the major in Comparative Literature. Original language option.

FRENCH & AMERICAN EXCHANGES IN MODERN ITALIAN LIT. (CL2056)

Offers a sampling of modern and contemporary Italian masters beginning with early modern drama, prose, and poetry. Concentrates on selections from 20th-century poetry and short fiction, with an emphasis on Italian authors who wrote partly in France or in French (Goldoni, Casanova, Leopardi, Ungaretti) or were influenced by America and its literature (Moravia, Pavese, Calvino).

RISE OF THE HERO & THE POET IN FRENCH LIT. (CL2057)

Engages with the canonical texts and counter-texts of French literature across its long span, from the Middle Ages to the present. French literature was the first vernacular literature to emerge on the European scene and until relatively recently it remained the most influential.

This panoramic overview of French literature is anchored in bilingual editions, inviting participants to interact closely with the French originals and their facing English translations (including The Song of Roland, François Villon, Voltaire’s Candide, a Beckett play). Depending on the individual student’s needs, supporting readings will be recommended in French or English. Written work may be submitted in either language. French is not a requirement, but the better the student’s level, the more he or she will benefit from the course.

Fulfills the Medieval period requirement for the major in Comparative Literature. Original language option.