Introduction to World Literature
This course is an introduction to the critical analysis of imaginative literature of the world, the dissemination of themes and myths, and the role of translation as the medium for reaching different cultures. Through the careful reading of selected classic texts from a range of Western and non-Western cultures, students will deepen their understanding and appreciation of the particular texts under consideration, while developing a critical vocabulary with which to discuss and write about these texts, both as unique artistic achievements of individual and empathetic imagination and as works affected by, but also transcending their historical periods. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Introduction to World Literature
This course is an introduction to the critical analysis of imaginative literature of the world, the dissemination of themes and myths, and the role of translation as the medium for reaching different cultures. Through the careful reading of selected classic texts from a range of Western and non-Western cultures, students will deepen their understanding and appreciation of the particular texts under consideration, while developing a critical vocabulary with which to discuss and write about these texts, both as unique artistic achievements of individual and empathetic imagination and as works affected by, but also transcending their historical periods. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Introduction to World Literature
This course is an introduction to the critical analysis of imaginative literature of the world, the dissemination of themes and myths, and the role of translation as the medium for reaching different cultures. Through the careful reading of selected classic texts from a range of Western and non-Western cultures, students will deepen their understanding and appreciation of the particular texts under consideration, while developing a critical vocabulary with which to discuss and write about these texts, both as unique artistic achievements of individual and empathetic imagination and as works affected by, but also transcending their historical periods. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Introduction to World Literature
This course is an introduction to the critical analysis of imaginative literature of the world, the dissemination of themes and myths, and the role of translation as the medium for reaching different cultures. Through the careful reading of selected classic texts from a range of Western and non-Western cultures, students will deepen their understanding and appreciation of the particular texts under consideration, while developing a critical vocabulary with which to discuss and write about these texts, both as unique artistic achievements of individual and empathetic imagination and as works affected by, but also transcending their historical periods. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Once Upon A Time ... Folk Fairy Tales Of The World
Tell me a story! We will examine the complex, inter-connected fairy tale traditions found in every society. Comparing fairy tale variants from around the world-including Japan, China, India, Near East, Africa-we will explore their convoluted and fertile relationships as observed in the rise of fairy tale collections in 15th-century Europe, reaching a culmination in the Brothers Grimm collection, often synonymous with the fairy tale itself. To attain a more dispassionate critical perspective we will explore theoretical approaches to the fairy tales through authors such as Zipes, Bottigheimer, Tatar, and Rölleke, and conclude by examining modern variants in prose, poetry, and film.

Introduction to Contemporary Literary Theory
This course will introduce several major schools of contemporary literary theory. By reading theoretical texts in close conjunction with works of literature, we will illuminate the ways in which these theoretical stances can produce various interpretations of a given poem, novel, or play. The approaches covered will include New Criticism, Psychoanalysis, Marxism and Cultural Criticism, Feminism, and Post-Structuralism. These theories will be applied to works by Shakespeare, Wordsworth, The Brontës, Conrad, Joyce, and others. The goal will be to make students critically aware of the fundamental literary, cultural, political, and moral assumptions underlying every act of interpretation they perform. 3 hrs. lect/disc.

Arabia: A Literary Approach (in English)
In this course we will examine the Arabian Peninsula as a literary topos that has beguiled representation in both Eastern and Western literature. Whether it is depicted as a glittering spectacle of petro-dollars, the haunt of Bedouin tribesmen or as a sacred focal point, Arabia is an open canvas on which successive societies have sketched their anxieties and aspirations Simultaneously, Arabia has its own rich legacy of self-representation that has been shaped by its harsh environment and unique resources. We will sift through these representations in texts that range among pre-Islamic poetry, the accounts of foreign explorers, novels by modern Arab authors, and contemporary Bedouin oral poetry. All readings will be in English and no previous knowledge of Arabic is required. 3 hrs. sem.

Literary Feasts: Representations of Food in Modern Narrative (in English)
This course will consider food and eating practices within specific cultural and historical contexts. We will analyze realistic, symbolic, religious, erotic, and political functions surrounding the preparation and consumption of food. Readings will be drawn from several national traditions, with a focus on Europe. Authors will include, among others, I. Dinesen, L. Esquivel, J. Harris, E. Hemingway, T. Lampedusa, P. Levi, C. Petrini, M. Pollan, E. Vittorini, and B. Yoshimoto. Viewing of several films where food and eating play an important role will supplement class discussion. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Representing the Unthinkable: The Holocaust in Literature (in English)
Can the Holocaust be described in words? Can images represent the horrors of Auschwitz? In this seminar we will explore the literary and artistic representations of the Shoah, their mechanisms, tensions, and challenges. We will approach the issues of Holocaust representations by considering a significant array of texts that span genres, national literatures, time, narrative and poetic styles, and historical situations. Readings will include theoretical texts on witnessing, memory, post-memory, and trauma by authors such as Sherman Alexie, Jean Amery, Hannah Arendt, Ilan Avisar, Tadeusz Borowski, Paul Celan, Chaim Kaplan, Ruth Kluger, Primo Levi, Bernhard Schlink, Art Spiegelman, Peter Weiss, and Eli Wiesel. 3 hrs. sem.

Chinese Poetry in the Far West
Although Tang poetry is recognized as one of the great achievements of world literature, its beauty is often lost in translation since so much of that beauty is integrally related to the structure of classical Chinese. In this course—intended for students with no knowledge of Chinese—we will thus spend a significant portion of our time learning from scratch how to read Tang poetry in the original by studying the most common characters and the most fundamental grammatical structures found in the Tang “sonnet.” Our energy will equally be devoted to examining such topics as: differences between Chinese and European poetics; differing theories of translation and intercultural adaptation; Orientalist fantasies of the ideogram; and the impact of ancient Chinese poetry on modern European and American poetry, especially the Imagism movement. Students will both study and write multiple translations in various styles. Readings will include both poetry and critical theory. Students who already know Chinese are not allowed to enroll. 3 hrs. lect/disc.

Dealing with the Devil: The "Faust" Tradition (in English)
Would you sell your soul to the devil if you could receive whatever you wanted in return? Faust made that deal for ultimate knowledge. Did he achieve his goal? Can the devil be trusted? Who wins in such a scenario: Faust or the devil? The search for knowledge and its inherent pitfalls have occupied cultures for centuries. The "Faust" Stoff emanates from a literary tradition that revolves around this search and connects it with the inexplicable forces of the supernatural. We can find "Faust" in music, literature, and the visual arts not only all over Europe, but also in the United States. This course focuses on a discussion of "Faust" in music and literature, primarily in the works of Marlowe, Goethe, Gounod, Liszt, Mann, Bulgakov, and Kerouac. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

The Art and Life of Non-Conformism in Twentieth-Century America and Russia (in English)
In this course we will explore the artistic production of Non-Conformists in 20th century Russia and America. Starting with the Russian Futurists, who stood behind the Soviet Revolution, we will consider how literature and art moved into the dissident realm as the new Soviet state increased its pressure to conform. We will read works by Russian dissidents within the Soviet Union and those written by political émigrés. We will compare these works to those by American non-conformists, including the New Orleans Second Line parades, Hobo, Beat Generation, Hippie, Punk, and the Burning Man cultures. 3 hrs. lect.

The Novel and the City
In this course we will examine a number of novels from the 20th and 21st centuries that are about life in the city, taking a global and trans-national approach. We will explore formations of urban life alongside transformations in the novel as a genre. We will put these novels of city life in dialogue with critical theory—that is, theories of culture and society that have as their aim human emancipation (for example, Marxism, feminism, critical race studies, and postcolonial studies). The novels we read will reflect important literary movements such as realism, modernism, and postmodernism. (Not open to students who have taken ENAM 0447)

Independent Study
Approval Required

Independent Study
Approval Required

Independent Study
Approval Required

Independent Study
Approval Required

Senior Thesis
Approval required.

Senior Thesis
Approval required.

Senior Thesis
Approval required.

Senior Thesis
Approval required.