An Interdepartmental Program in Comparative Literature and Culture
Last updated: August 28, 2019 at 2:18 PM
Programs of Study
- Minor
- Major (BA)
Objectives
The program in Comparative Literature and Culture engages the study of literatures and cultures within and across national boundaries. It comprises the comparative analysis of literary and cultural texts not only in relation to genres, forms, and movements, but within the larger context of social discourse and cultural practices. Because cultural practices are not static but continually changing, the comparative approach is sensitive not only to historical context, but also to how cultural forms adapt to new conditions. Analysis of cultural differences, diversities, and similarities will promote a greater knowledge of the rapidly changing globe we inhabit, and also deepen students' critical understanding of their own cultures.
Learning Goals
Comparative study explores literature and other art forms beyond and across the boundaries of single nations, languages and cultures, often in conjunction with the historical, political and social realities that lend life and variety to any art form. It represents a way of approaching creative works, rather than a specific body of knowledge about them. Because the comparative approach takes a global perspective, embracing all of world literature and culture in all periods of history, no one person could possibly embody the field. As a result, the comparative field is a highly dynamic, interdisciplinary and collaborative endeavor, which is reflected in the diverse interests of our students and faculty.
The Comparative Literature and Culture core course, COML 100a, Introduction to Global Literature, introduces students to the diversity of approaches to comparing literatures and cultures possible within the field and serves as a jumping-off point for students' individualized exploration of literary and other works from across the globe, from a wide variety of perspectives. Beyond the core course, the major also emphasizes the study of literature and culture in languages other than English. Courses are taught by distinguished faculty from across the Humanities at Brandeis.
Comparative studies are inherently multicultural and dynamic. We are constantly shaping our curriculum to fit the interests and needs of the changing student body and encourage student input at all levels of program planning.
Knowledge
Students completing the major in Comparative Literature and Culture will:
- understand aspects of creative activity that can or must be studied cross-culturally, such as: genre; the movement of aesthetic ideas across boundaries, including translation; diasporic cultures; and movements that span multiple cultures, such as romanticism, modernism and the avant-garde;
- understand the major questions, concepts, theories and methodologies of the comparative method;
- achieve solid proficiency in at least one language other than English, to the level needed to work with original texts in at least two linguistically distinct cultural traditions.
Core Skills
Majors will develop the capacity to:
- perform strong and revealing close analyses of literary and other artistic texts;
- employ the conceptual tools and insights of theoretical texts to read critically and interpret works in various genres drawn from a variety of traditions and cultures;
- use various interpretive approaches, considering the benefits and limitations of different strategies;
- use library resources to find relevant research materials;
- construct a logical, well-supported argument about a comparative problem by identifying and articulating a compelling and productive comparative question and synthesizing relevant critical literature;
- present such comparative arguments in clear and engaging academic prose.
Social Justice
Cultural forms and ideas move across borders, now perhaps more than ever; the Comparative Literature and Culture program emphasizes the importance of cultural literacy and sensitivity to cultural difference both within individual societies and in the global context. The curriculum provides graduates with knowledge and perspectives needed to appreciate and respect the diversity of creative expression around the world, as well as the shared human urge toward artistic expression in language, whether oral or written. Majors will be prepared to participate in multicultural and global conversations by asking questions, listening closely and responding productively, in the collaborative spirit of the field.
Upon Graduating
A Brandeis student with a Comparative Literature and Culture major will be prepared to use the knowledge and skills gained from the sustained comparative study of literatures and cultures to pursue professional training and a range of careers that demand a global perspective or a knowledge of and appreciation for diverse cultures, including those in academics, government, non-governmental organizations and non-profits, and international business.
How to Become a Major or Minor
All students are welcome to enroll in any course in the program unless prerequisites are stipulated. Students interested in learning more about the Comparative Literature and Culture major or minor are encouraged to speak with the Undergraduate Advising Head. Keep in mind that two literature or cultural courses must be taken in a language other than English. Students are strongly encouraged to spend at least one semester abroad, preferably in a country whose primary language is not English.
Program Committee
Pu Wang, Chair and Undergraduate Advising Head
(German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature)
Matthew Fraleigh
(German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature)
David Powelstock
(German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature)
Stephen Dowden
(German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature)
Michael Randall
(French and Francophone Studies)
Fernando Rosenberg
(Hispanic Studies)
Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)
Jerónimo Arellano (Romance Studies)
Joel Christensen (Classical Studies)
Jonathan Decter (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)
Stephen Dowden (German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature)
William Flesch (English)
Matthew Fraleigh (German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature)
James Mandrell (Romance Studies
Robin Feuer Miller (German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature)
David Powelstock (German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature)
Laura Quinney (English)
Michael Randall (Romance Studies)
Fernando Rosenberg (Romance Studies)
David Sherman (English)
Harleen Singh (German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature)
Requirements for the Minor
The minor in Comparative Literature and Culture requires five courses, distributed as follows:
- COML 100a, to be taken as early as possible in the student's academic career.
- One upper-level course taught in a language other than English, involving work with texts and/or films in a language other than English. Normally such courses are numbered 100 and above, exclusive of language skills courses. Coursework in literature and culture focused upon original-language texts can be pursued both at Brandeis and through approved Study Abroad programs.
- Two upper-level courses COML-designated courses. These courses will bridge more than one national tradition and engage in cross-cultural examination.
- One additional upper-level elective course in literature or a related field as approved by the Undergraduate Advising Head. Students are encouraged to select a course that takes a comparative approach.
- No more than two classes taken toward the minor can double count toward any other major or minor.
- No course with a grade below a C- may count toward the minor nor any course taken pass/fail.
Requirements for the Major
The major in Comparative Literature and Culture requires a minimum of nine courses, distributed as follows:
- COML 100a, to be taken as early as possible in the student's academic career.
- Two upper-level courses taught in a language other than English, involving work with texts and/or films. Normally such courses are numbered 100 and above, exclusive of language skills courses. The two courses need not be drawn from a single language tradition. Coursework in literature and culture focused upon original-language texts can be pursued both at Brandeis and through approved Study Abroad programs.
- Three upper-level COML-designated courses. These courses will bridge more than one national tradition and engage in cross-cultural examination.
- Three additional upper-level elective courses in literature or a related field as approved by the Undergraduate Advising Head. Students are encouraged to select courses that take a comparative approach. No more than two of these elective courses may be in Film, Television, and Interactive Media to be counted toward the major. No more than one of these elective courses may be counted toward another major.
- Foundational Literacies: As part of completing the Comparative Literature and Culture major, students must:
- Fulfill the writing intensive requirement by successfully completing one of the following: Any COML cross-listed course approved for WI or COML/ENG 148a.
- Fulfill the oral communication requirement by successfully completing: COML 100a.
- Fulfill the digital literacy requirement by successfully completing: COML 100a.
- No course with a grade below a C- will count toward the major nor any course taken pass/fail.
Honors
Students who wish to pursue honors must enroll in COML 99d, normally in the senior year, and complete a thesis. One semester of thesis research may substitute for an upper-level comparative course. A senior project is required only of students pursuing honors.
Courses of Instruction
(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students
COML
92a
Internship and Analysis in Comparative Literature and Culture
Usually offered every year.
Staff
COML
97a
Senior Essay
Offers students an opportunity to produce a senior essay under the direction of an individual instructor. Usually offered every fall.
Staff
COML
98a
Independent Study
May be taken only by majors, with the written permission of the advising head and the chair of the department.
Readings and reports under faculty supervision. Offered as needed.
Staff
COML
98b
Independent Study
May be taken only by majors, with the written permission of the advising head and the chair of the department.
Reading and reports under faculty supervision. Offered as needed.
Staff
COML
99d
Senior Thesis
May be taken only with the permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head.
This is a full-year course that must be taken by all senior majors in Comparative Literature and Culture who wish to undertake honors work. Usually offered every year.
Staff
COML/ENG
70b
Environmental Film, Environmental Justice
[
djw
hum
]
Examines films that address nature, environmental crisis, and green activism. Asks how world cinema can best advance the goals of social and environmental justice. Includes films by major directors and festival award winners. Usually offered every third year.
Caren Irr
COML/HUM
21a
Renaissance Literary Masterpieces
[
hum
]
Introduces students to some of the greatest works written in Europe during the Renaissance. Readings will include works by Dante, Petrarch, Michelangelo, Luther, Erasmus, Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Rabelais, and Cervantes. All readings will be in English. Usually taught every third year.
Ramie Targoff
(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students
COML
100a
Introduction to Global Literature
[
dl
hum
oc
]
Core course for COML major and minor.
What is common and what is different in literatures of different cultures and times? How do literary ideas move from one culture to another? In this course students read theoretical texts, as well as literary works from around the world. Usually offered every year.
Staff
COML
117a
Magical Realism and Modern Myth
[
hum
]
An exploration of magical realism, as well as the enduring importance of myth, in twentieth and twenty-first century fiction and film from Columbia, India, Nigeria, the United States, England, and elsewhere. Authors include Ben Okri, Toni Morrison, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Salman Rushdie; films include Pan's Labyrinth and Beasts of the Southern Wild. Usually offered every second year.
David Sherman
COML
120a
Disordered Loves and Howling Passion: European Romanticism
[
hum
]
Introduces European Romanticism from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. This course integrates literature, painting, music, and philosophy. Works by Beethoven, Hölderlin, Schubert, Delacroix, Wordsworth, Mary Shelly, Verdi, Schlegel, Kant, Claude David and others. Usually offered every second year.
Stephen Dowden
COML
122b
Writing Home and Abroad: Literature by Women of Color
[
hum
nw
]
Examines literature (prose, poetry, and memoirs) written by women of color across a wide spectrum of geographical and cultural sites. Literature written within the confines of the "home country" in the vernacular, as well as in English in immigrant locales, is read. The intersections of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and class as contained by the larger institutions of government, religion, nationalism, and sectarian politics are examined. Usually offered every third year.
Harleen Singh
COML
123a
Perfect Love?
[
hum
]
The conflict between "perfect” and carnal love has inspired artistic works from the Middle Ages through the present. This course studies how perfect love runs afoul of more human desires in works by authors, composers, and film makers like Chrétien de Troye, Marguerite de Navarre, Hawthorne, Monteverdi, di Sica, and Wong Karwai. Usually offered every second year.
Michael Randall
COML
132b
Poetry and Philosophy
[
hum
]
Plato called the relationship between poetry and philosophy an "ancient quarrel." But within the last century some thinkers have attempted to effect a rapprochement. After considering the Platonic argument and its legacy, this course will explore the marriage of poetry and philosophy in later times, looking particularly at the experiments of German romantic aesthetics and its legacy in 20th-century Continental literary philosophy. What is the nature of the "ancient quarrel" between poetry and philosophy? In what sense do they compete for the same space? Can poetry be a kind of philosophy, or vice versa? Can philosophy help us to understand the nature of poetry, and vice versa? Usually offered every third year.
Laura Quinney
COML
146b
Classical East Asian Poetics
[
hum
nw
]
An introduction to the classical poetic forms of China, Japan, and Korea. Special consideration is paid to issues of canonization, classical theories of literature, and the development of multilingual literary traditions. All readings are in English. Usually offered every third year.
Matthew Fraleigh
COML
150b
Critique of Erotic Reason
[
hum
]
Explores transformations in erotic sensibilities in the novel from the early nineteenth century to the present. Works by Goethe, Austen, Kierkegaard, Tolstoy, Schopenhauer, Bronte, Chekhov, Garcia-Marquez, Kundera, and Cormac McCarthy. Usually offered every third year.
Stephen Dowden
COML
168a
Things Fall Apart: The Novel and Postcolonial Anarchy
[
hum
]
Explores the shared history of British Imperialism and examines the postcolonial novel's response to the breakdown of colonial power and the advent of the postcolonial state. We will read novels from South Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Usually offered every fourth year.
Harleen Singh
COML
171a
Literary Translation in Theory and in Practice
[
hum
]
Prerequisite: Excellent reading knowledge of any language other than English. Students will be asked to demonstrate proficiency before receiving consent to enroll in the course.
Approaching literary translation from several angles at once, this course combines readings in the history and theory of translation with a practical translation workshop. Students will experience first-hand the challenges of literary translation and, with the help of the theoretical readings, reflect on what the process teaches us about linguistic, literary, and cultural difference. Usually offered every second year.
David Powelstock or Staff
COML
185a
Dickens and Dostoevsky
[
hum
]
Considers such issues as narrative, literary realism, and the manipulation of the grotesque and the sublime in representative works of Dickens and Dostoevsky. Because Dostoevsky was an avid reader of Dickens, class addresses questions of influence, particularly with regard to their shared thematic interests. Usually offered every second year.
Robin Feuer Miller
COML/ENG
140b
Children's Literature and Constructions of Childhood
[
hum
]
Explores whether children's literature has sought to civilize or to subvert, to moralize or to enchant, forming a bedrock for adult sensibility. Childhood reading reflects the unresolved complexity of the experience of childhood itself as well as larger cultural shifts around the globe in values and beliefs. Usually offered every third year.
Robin Feuer Miller
COML/ENG
141b
Literature and Time
[
hum
]
Explores the human experience of temporality and reflection upon it. Themes covered by this course include: memory, nostalgia, anxiety, ethics, eternity, and time travel. Usually offered every third year.
Laura Quinney
COML/ENG
148a
Fiction of the Second World War
[
hum
wi
]
Studies novels of the Second World War from Great Britain, France, Germany, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan (all readings in English). Usually offered every fourth year.
John Burt
COML/ENG
149a
Dante's Hell and Its Legacy
[
hum
]
Studies the Classical underworld and its reworking in English verse. Topics include the descent to the underworld, the ambiguous Satan, the myths of Orpheus and Penelope, and the psychological Hells of the modernists. Usually offered every second year.
Laura Quinney
COML/REC
136a
All in the Family: Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and the English Novel
[
hum
]
Selected novels and writings of Austen, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Woolf will be read to trace both the evolution of the novel and the meanings, contexts and depictions of the family. The family novel encompasses such larger questions as how we regard the pain of others and how we define community. Usually offered every second year.
Robin Feuer Miller
Upper-Level Courses in a Language Other than English
ARBC
103a
Lower Advanced Arabic
[
fl
hum
]
Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in ARBC 40b or the equivalent. Four class-hours per week.
Designed to help the student attain advanced proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and understanding. The syllabus includes selections from modern texts representing a variety of styles and genres, advanced composition, and sustained development of oral-aural proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic. A grade of C- or higher in ARBC 103a is required to take ARBC 103b. Usually offered every year.
Carl Sharif El-Tobgui
ARBC
103b
Middle Advanced Arabic: Contemporary Arab Media
[
fl
hum
]
Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in ARBC 103a or the equivalent. Four class hours per week.
Continuation of ARBC 103a. Intensive honing primarily of oral-aural skills and vocabulary building with concentration on the spoken media of the contemporary Arab world. Review and reinforcement of major grammatical topics as needed. Usually offered every year.
Staff
CHIN
120a
Readings in Contemporary Chinese Literature: Advanced Chinese Language
[
fl
hum
wi
]
Prerequisite: CHIN 105a or equivalent.
For advanced students of Chinese, an introduction to contemporary Chinese short stories from the 1990s and later. Focuses on significant expansion of vocabulary and grammar, and on providing students an opportunity to develop and polish both oral and written skills through class discussion, presentations, and writing assignments. Usually offered every fall.
Staff
CHIN
120b
Readings in Contemporary Chinese Literature: Advanced Chinese Language II
[
fl
hum
wi
]
Prerequisite: CHIN 120a or equivalent.
Continuation of CHIN 120a. Study of contemporary Chinese short stories from the 1990s and later. These stories not only represent new literary themes and linguistic expressions, but also reflect the modernization, commercialization, and urbanization that is transforming China. The course improves students' knowledge of the language, as well as enhancing their understanding of Chinese society and culture. Usually offered every spring.
Pu Wang
FREN
110a
Cultural Representations
[
fl
hum
oc
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
A foundation course in French and Francophone culture, analyzing texts and other cultural phenomena such as film, painting, music, and politics. Usually offered every year.
Clémentine Fauré-Bellaïche, Hollie Harder, or Michael Randall
FREN
111a
The Republic
[
fl
hum
oc
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
The "Republic" analyzes how the republican ideal of the citizen devoid of religious, ethnic, or gender identity has fared in different Francophone political milieux. Course involves understanding how political institutions such as constitutions, parliaments, and court systems interact with reality of modern societies in which religious, ethnic, and gender identities play important roles. Usually offered every year.
Michael Randall
FREN
133b
Visions of Change in Eighteenth-Century French Literature
[
fl
hum
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Examines how 18th century French literature generated new frames of thinking and how these visions influenced contemporary values in such areas as religion, politics, society, education, and the family. Readings from Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Diderot. Usually offered every fourth year.
Martine Voiret
FREN
142b
City and the Book
[
fl
hum
wi
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Analyzes the symbolic appearance of the city in French literature and film from the Middle Ages to the present day. The representation of the city in literature and film is contextualized in theoretical writings of urbanists and philosophers. Literary texts include medieval fabliaux, Pantagruel (Rabelais) and Nana (Zola) as well as theoretical texts by Descartes, Ledoux, Le Corbusier, Salvador Dalí, and Paul Virillo. Usually offered every second year.
Michael Randall
FREN
186b
Literature and Politics
[
fl
hum
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
We will be interested in how the literary is political and the political literary. We will organize the class around the relationship of the individual and the community. Texts include: Montaigne’s Essais, Corneille’s Horace, Genet’s Les nègres, Arendt’s What is Politics?, Dumont’s Essays on Individualism, Fanon’s Peau noire, masques blancs. Usually offered every third year.
Michael Randall
GER
121a
Der Eros und das Wort: Lyrik, Prosa, Drama
[
fl
hum
]
Focuses on the prose, poetry, and drama of love in German literature since Goethe. Workes by Goethe, Kleist, Novalis, Tieck, Rilke, Hofmannsthal, Schnitzler, Treichel, and others. Usually offered every third year.
Stephen Dowden
GRK
115b
Ancient Greek Drama
[
fl
hum
]
The plays of Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Euripides, and Sophocles, in Greek. A different playwright is studied each year. See Schedule of Classes for current topic. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff
GRK
120b
Greek Prose Authors
[
fl
hum
]
Selections from Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, and other prose authors, in Greek. See Schedule of Classes for current topic. Usually offered every third year.
Joel Christensen or Staff
HBRW
123a
Creative Reading and Writing in Hebrew I
[
fl
hum
wi
]
Prerequisite: Any 30-level Hebrew course or permission of the instructor.
An intermediate- to mid/high-level course, which focuses on modern Hebrew prose and poetry stressing major trends. Students are expected to acquire better fluency in reading, writing, and conversation. Usually offered every year.
Staff
HBRW
144a
Hebrew through Plays and Drama
[
ca
fl
hum
oc
wi
]
Prerequisite: Four semesters of Hebrew or permission of the instructor.
Helps improve Hebrew language skills at the intermediate-high/advanced-level by focusing on various creative aspects such as improvisations, drama, performance, and other acting techniques such as movement, imagination, and other basic skills necessary to act out scenes from various plays in the Hebrew language. Writing assignments and self-critique enhance the students' skills in language acquisition. The course culminates in the writing of one-act plays in Hebrew along with a theatrical performance and production. Usually offered every year in the fall.
Staff
HBRW
146a
The Voices of Jerusalem
[
djw
fl
hum
wi
]
Prerequisite: Four semesters of Hebrew or permission of the instructor.
Aims to develop students' language proficiency through analysis of selected materials that depict the unique tradition, literature and poetry, history, politics, art, and other features related to Jerusalem. Usually offered every second year in the fall.
Sara Hascal
HBRW
164b
Israeli Theater
[
ca
fl
hum
oc
wi
]
Prerequisite: Four semesters of Hebrew or permission of the instructor.
An advanced course that enhances advanced language skills through reading and analysis of plays. The student's creativity is developed through participation in acting and creative writing lab. In reading plays, students can also participate in Hebrew acting lab. Usually offered every second year in the fall.
Staff
HBRW
170a
Take I: Hebrew through Israeli Cinema
[
fl
hum
wi
]
Prerequisite: Any 40-level Hebrew course or permission of the instructor.
An advanced culture course that focuses on the various aspects of Israeli society as they are portrayed in Israeli films and television. In addition to viewing films, the students will be asked to read Hebrew background materials, to participate in class discussions, and to write in Hebrew about the films. Usually offered every spring.
Staff
HISP
111b
Introduction to Latin American Literature and Culture
[
djw
dl
fl
hum
nw
]
Prerequisite: HISP 106b, or HISP 108a, or permission of the instructor.
Examines key Latin American texts of different genres (poems, short stories and excerpts from novels, chronicles, comics, screenplays, cyberfiction) and from different time periods from the conquest to modernity. This class places emphasis on problems of cultural definition and identity construction as they are elaborated in literary discourse. Identifying major themes (coloniality and emancipation, modernismo and modernity, indigenismo, hybridity and mestizaje, nationalisms, Pan-Americanism, etc.) we will trace continuities and ruptures throughout Latin American intellectual history. Usually offered every semester.
Jerónimo Arellano, Lucía Reyes de Deu, or Fernando Rosenberg
HISP
160a
Culture and Social Change in Latin America
[
fl
hum
nw
wi
]
Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor.
Examines the relationship between the arts (including literature, film, and fine arts) and society in Latin America during the twentieth century by focusing on three historical conjunctures when this relationship was particularly rich: the political and artistic vanguards of the 1920s (with particular attention to the Mexican Revolution and its aftermath); the 1960s, marked by the historical turning point of the Cuban Revolution; and the decade of the 1990s, characterized by the transition to democracy, the emergence of human rights and other social movements. Usually offered every second year.
Fernando Rosenberg
ITAL
120b
Modern Italian Literature: From Page to the Screen
[
fl
hum
]
Prerequisite: ITAL 105a or 106a or permission of the instructor.
Focuses on the literature of twentieth-century writers such as Sciascia, Lampedusa, and Calvino, as well as contemporary writers, such as Maraini, Baricco, Tamaro, and Ammaniti with emphasis on the theme of historical, individual, and familial identity within the context of traumatic socio-economic upheaval and transformative cultural events in the Italian society. Several films based on these works will also be examined, with emphasis on an analysis of cinematic innovation and interpretation from the examined texts. Usually offered every second year.
Paola Servino
ITAL
128a
Mapping Modern Italian Culture: Inherited Conflicts
[
fl
hum
oc
]
Prerequisite: ITAL 105a or 106a or permission of the instructor. Conducted in Italian with Italian texts.
Covers a broad and significant range of cultural topics that exemplify creative responses to historical events and social dilemmas that have shaped contemporary Italian culture including economic changes, the new face of immigration in Italy, and the social fight against the Mafia and Camorra through literature and cinema. Usually offered every second year.
Paola Servino
JAPN
120b
Readings in Modern Japanese Literature
[
fl
hum
nw
oc
wi
]
Prerequisite: JAPN 120a or the equivalent.
Students read, analyze, discuss, and write about Japanese short fiction by a wide range of modern and contemporary authors. Screening of film adaptations and television programs complement class discussion, which is conducted in Japanese. Usually offered every year.
Matthew Fraleigh
LAT
115a
Roman Drama
[
fl
hum
]
Selected plays of Plautus and Terence, in Latin. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff
LAT
116b
Roman Satire
[
fl
hum
]
The satires of Horace and Juvenal, in Latin. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff
LAT
117a
Lucretius, De Rerum Natura
[
fl
hum
]
Close reading (in Latin) and discussion of poetic and philosophical dimensions of the poem. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff
LAT
118a
Latin Lyric and Elegiac Poetry
[
fl
hum
]
Selections from Catullus, Horace, Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid, in Latin. Usually offered every third year.
Staff
LAT
119b
Ovid: Metamorphoses
[
fl
hum
]
Selections from Ovid's mythological-poetic history of the universe, in Latin. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff
RUS
150b
Advanced Russian Language through 20th Century Literature
[
dl
fl
hum
oc
]
Prerequisite (heritage speakers): RUS 29b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Prerequisite (non-heritage speakers): RUS 40b or the equivalent. Taught in Russian. Course may be repeated for credit with instructor's permission.
A seminar for continuing students of Russian who wish to enhance their proficiency and accuracy in speaking, reading and writing. Focusing on the close study of Russian literature in the original Russian and the development of Russian oral and written language skills needed for the close reading and discussion of literature. Usually offered every second year.
Irina Dubinina
RUS
153a
Advanced Russian Language through 19th Century Literature
[
dl
fl
hum
]
Prerequisite: RUS 29b or RUS 40b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Taught in Russian.
An undergraduate seminar for heritage and advanced students of Russian. Focus on the study of 19th-century Russian literature in the original and development of Russian oral and written skills needed for the close reading and discussion of literature. Usually offered every fourth year.
Irina Dubinina
RUS
160b
Russian/Soviet Jews: Dual Identities in Text, Image and Music
[
dl
fl
hum
oc
]
Prerequisite: Advanced Russian language skills.
An undergraduate seminar introduces heritage and advanced students of Russian to a number of Russian Jewish artists and writers who created in the Russian language and who made significant contributions to 20th-century Soviet and Russian literature, cinema, theater, and music. Through analyses and discussions of texts, images and music created by Russian-speaking Jews, students will explore the role Russian Jews played in shaping the Soviet and modern Russian culture. Usually offered every fourth year.
Irina Dubinina
Courses in Related Fields
These are examples of comparative courses that may be counted toward category (D) of the major and minor requirements if they are approved by the UAH as appropriate to each student’s course of study. Courses with comparative content not listed here may be counted with approval of the UAH. In all cases, students' selection of courses in this category must be discussed with the UAH before they can be counted toward the major or minor requirements.
AAAS
125b
Caribbean Women and Globalization: Sexuality, Citizenship, Work
[
ss
wi
]
Utilizing perspectives from sociology, anthropology, fiction, and music to examine the relationship between women's sexuality and conceptions of labor, citizenship, and sovereignty. The course considers these alongside conceptions of masculinity, contending feminisms, and the global perspective. Usually offered every second year.
Faith Smith
AAAS
132b
Introduction to African Literature
[
hum
nw
ss
wi
]
Examines the cultural production of African writers and filmmakers and their critiques of the postcolonial state. Topics include their exploration of gender, sexuality, language choice, the pressures placed on "authentic" identities by diasporic communities, and the conflicting claims of tradition and modernity. Usually offered every third year.
Faith Smith
AAAS
133b
The Literature of the Caribbean
[
hum
nw
ss
wi
]
An exploration of the narrative strategies and themes of writers of the region who grapple with issues of colonialism, class, race, ethnicity, and gender in a context of often-conflicting allegiances to North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Usually offered every second year.
Faith Smith
AAAS
134b
Novel and Film of the African Diaspora
[
hum
nw
]
Writers and filmmakers, who are usually examined separately under national or regional canonical categories such as "(North) American," "Latin American," "African," "British," or "Caribbean," are brought together here to examine transnational identities and investments in "authentic," "African," or "black" identities. Usually offered every third year.
Faith Smith
CHIN
136b
Chinese Modernism in International Context
[
hum
nw
]
Taught in English.
Examines the origins, recurrences, and metamorphosis of modernistic styles and movements in twentieth-century Chinese literature, film, fine art, and intellectual discourses. Usually offered every second year.
Pu Wang
CLAS
170a
Classical Mythology
[
hum
]
An introduction to Greek and Roman mythology. Considers ancient song cultures, and the relationship between myth, drama, and religion. Also explores visual representations of myth. Usually offered every second year.
Joel Christensen
ECS
100a
European Cultural Studies Proseminar: Modernism
[
dl
hum
oc
wi
]
Explores the interrelationship of literature, music, painting, philosophy, and other arts in the era of high modernism. Works by Artaud, Baudelaire, Benjamin, Mann, Mahler, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Kandinsky, Schiele, Beckett, Brecht, Adorno, Sartre, Heidegger, and others. Usually offered every fall semester.
Stephen Dowden
ECS
100b
European Cultural Studies Proseminar: Making of European Modernity
[
hum
wi
]
Investigates how the paradigm of what we know as modernity came into being. We will look at the works of writers and philosophers such as Descartes, Aquinas, Dante, Ockham, Petrarch, Ficino, Rabelais, and Montaigne. Artwork from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance will be used to understand better what "the modern" means. Usually offered every spring semester.
Michael Randall
ECS/ENG
110a
Thinking about Infinity
[
hum
]
Explores the attempts of the finite human mind to think about infinity. Readings in mathematics, history of science, philosophy, literature, and art, including Euclid, Plato, Cantor, Poincaré, Einstein, Pascal, Kant, Hegel, Wordsworth, Shelley, Joyce, Beckett, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Usually offered every third year.
William Flesch
ENG
107a
Women Writing Desire: Caribbean Fiction and Film
[
hum
]
About eight novels of the last two decades (by Cliff, Cruz, Danticat, Garcia, Kempadoo, Kincaid, Mittoo, Nunez, Pineau, Powell, or Rosario), drawn from across the region, and read in dialogue with popular culture, theory, and earlier generations of male and female writers of the region. Usually offered every third year.
Faith Smith
ENG
111b
Postcolonial Theory
[
hum
]
Introduces students to key concepts in postcolonial theory. Traces the consequences of European colonialism for politics, culture and literature around the world, situates these within ongoing contemporary debates, and considers the usefulness of postcolonial theory for understanding the world today. Usually offered every third year.
Ulka Anjaria
ENG
115b
Fictions of Liberty: Europe in a Revolutionary Age
[
hum
]
The "Age of Enlightenment" fostered new notions of human rights that found their tumultuous proving ground in the French Revolution. Through writings from several genres and nations, this course explores some of the political, economic, religious, racial, and sexual "fictions of liberty" that have shaped our own time. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
ENG
121a
Sex and Culture
[
hum
]
An exploration of the virtually unlimited explanatory power attributed to sexuality in the modern world. "Texts" include examples from literature, film, television, pornography, sexology, and theory. Usually offered every second year.
Paul Morrison
ENG
127a
The Novel in India
[
hum
nw
]
Survey of the novel and short story of the Indian subcontinent, their formal experiments in context of nationalism and postcolonial history. Authors may include Tagore, Anand, Manto, Desani, Narayan, Desai, Devi, Rushdie, Roy, Mistry, and Chaudhuri. Usually offered every second year.
Ulka Anjaria
ENG
127b
Migrating Bodies, Migrating Texts
[
hum
nw
]
Beginning with the region's representation as a tabula rasa, examines the textual and visual constructions of the Caribbean as colony, homeland, backyard, paradise, and Babylon, and how the region's migrations have prompted ideas about evolution, hedonism, imperialism, nationalism, and diaspora. Usually offered every second year.
Faith Smith
ENG
133b
Imagining Money: Literature and Economics from Barter to Bitcoin
[
hum
]
Money works because it is socially shared fiction; literature works because it has socially shared value. We will discuss the economics of literary experience: both literature about money (e.g. Chaucer, Shakespeare, Zola) and the picoeconomic game theory literature relies on. Usually offered every third year.
William Flesch
ENG
144b
The Body as Text
[
hum
wi
]
How are our bodies the material for our presentations of self and our interactions with others? Examines contemporary theories and histories of the body against literary, philosophical, political, and performance texts of the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Usually offered every third year.
Thomas King
ENG
152a
Indian Love Stories
[
hum
nw
]
Introduces students to writings on love, desire and sexuality from ancient India to the present. Topics include ancient eroticism, love in Urdu poetry, Gandhi's sexual asceticism, colonial regulation of sexuality, Bollywood, queer fiction and more. Usually offered every third year.
Ulka Anjaria
ENG
152b
Arthurian Literature
[
dl
hum
]
A survey of (mostly) medieval treatments of the legendary material associated with King Arthur and his court, in several genres: bardic poetry, history, romance, prose narrative. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
ENG
171a
The History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to Postmodernism
[
hum
wi
]
Explores major documents in the history of criticism from Plato to the present. Texts will be read as representative moments in the history of criticism and as documents of self-sufficient literary and intellectual interest. Usually offered every third year.
Paul Morrison or Laura Quinney
ENG
181a
Making Sex, Performing Gender
[
hum
]
Recommended preparation: An introductory course in gender/sexuality and/or a course in critical theory.
Gender and sexuality studied as sets of performed traits and cues for interactions among social actors. Readings explore the possibility that differently organized gender and sexual practices are possible for men and women. Usually offered every third year.
Thomas King
FREN
110a
Cultural Representations
[
fl
hum
oc
]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
A foundation course in French and Francophone culture, analyzing texts and other cultural phenomena such as film, painting, music, and politics. Usually offered every year.
Clémentine Fauré-Bellaïche, Hollie Harder, or Michael Randall
GECS
130b
The Princess and the Golem: Fairy Tales
[
hum
wi
]
Conducted in English.
Compares Walt Disney’s films with German and other European fairy tales from the nineteenth and twentieth century, focusing on feminist and psychoanalytic readings. Usually offered every second year.
Sabine von Mering
HISP
120b
Don Quixote
[
hum
]
Taught in English.
Don Quixote is: a) a compendium of prior literary genres; b) the first modern novel; c) a funny book; d) a deep meditation on the human condition; e) the best novel ever written; f) all of the above. Usually offered every second year.
James Mandrell
HISP
152b
Monsters and Creatures in Latin American and Latinx Culture
[
hum
nw
]
Taught in English.
Explores the role of the monstrous and the creaturely in Latin American and Latinx genre cinema, literary fiction, visual and performance art, and biomedia. We pay particular attention to the ways in which Latin American and Latinx monsters reflect and wrestle with systems of racial inequality, ethnic and sexual difference, and the rise of new technologies on the peripheries of global capitalism. Usually offered every second year.
Jerónimo Arellano
HISP
160a
Culture and Social Change in Latin America
[
fl
hum
nw
wi
]
Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor.
Examines the relationship between the arts (including literature, film, and fine arts) and society in Latin America during the twentieth century by focusing on three historical conjunctures when this relationship was particularly rich: the political and artistic vanguards of the 1920s (with particular attention to the Mexican Revolution and its aftermath); the 1960s, marked by the historical turning point of the Cuban Revolution; and the decade of the 1990s, characterized by the transition to democracy, the emergence of human rights and other social movements. Usually offered every second year.
Fernando Rosenberg
HISP
196a
Topics in Latinx Literature and Culture
[
hum
wi
]
May be repeated for credit. May be taught in English or Spanish.
Offers students the opportunity for in-depth study of a particular aspect of the diverse literary and cultural production of U.S. latinx. Topics will vary from year to year but may include autobiography, detective fiction, or historical fiction. Usually offered every third year.
James Mandrell, Lucía Reyes de Deu or Staff
HISP
198a
Experiential Research Seminar in Literary and Cultural Studies
[
dl
hum
oc
wi
]
May be taught in English or Spanish.
A research seminar in which each student has the opportunity to become an “expert” in a Hispanic literary or cultural text/topic that captures her or his imagination, inspired by a study abroad experience; an earlier class in Hispanic Studies; community-engaged learning; etc. Instruction in literary/cultural theory, researching a subject, and analytical skills necessary for developing a scholarly argument. Students present research in progress and write a research paper of significant length. Usually offered every year.
Fernando Rosenberg or Jerónimo Arellano
HOID
102b
Knowledge and Power
[
hum
]
What is the relationship between knowledge and power? Using the work of Michel Foucault as a foundation, this course will explore the interweaving effects of power and knowledge in institutions and their systems of thought. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
HUM
10a
The Western Canon
[
hum
]
May not be taken by students who have taken FYS 18a in prior years.
Foundational texts of the Western canon: the Bible, Homer, Vergil, and Dante. Thematic emphases and supplementary texts vary from year to year.
Staff
HUM/UWS
1a
Tragedy: Love and Death in the Creative Imagination
[
hum
uws
]
Enrollment limited to Humanities Fellows.
How do you turn catastrophe into art - and why? This first-year seminar in the humanities addresses such elemental questions, especially those centering on love and death. How does literature catch hold of catastrophic experiences and make them intelligible or even beautiful? Should misery even be beautiful? By exploring the tragic tradition in literature across many eras, cultures, genres, and languages, this course looks for basic patterns. Usually offered every year.
John Burt and Stephen Dowden
HUM/UWS
2a
Crime and Punishment: Justice and Criminality from Plato to Serial
[
hum
uws
]
Enrollment limited to Humanities Fellows. Formerly offered as COML/HOI 103a.
Examines concepts of criminality, justice, and punishment in Western humanist traditions. We will trace conversations about jurisprudence in literature, philosophy, political theory, and legal studies. Topics include democracy and the origins of justice, narrating criminality, and the aesthetic force mobilized by criminal trials. This course also involves observing local courtroom proceedings and doing research in historical archives about significant criminal prosecutions. Usually offered every year.
Eugene Sheppard and David Sherman
JAPN
130a
The Literature of Multicultural Japan
[
djw
hum
nw
]
"Multicultural" may not be an adjective that many associate with Japan, but as we will find in this class, Japan's modern literary and cinematic tradition is rich with works by and about resident Koreans, Ainu, Okinawans, outcasts, and sexual and other marginalized minorities. Why then does the image of a monocultural Japan remain so resilient? Usually offered every third year.
Matthew Fraleigh
JAPN
135a
Screening National Images: Japanese Film and Anime in Global Context
[
hum
nw
]
All films and readings are in English.
An introduction to some major directors and works of postwar Japanese film and anime with special attention to such issues as genre, medium, adaptation, narrative, and the circulation of national images in the global setting. Usually offered every third year.
Matthew Fraleigh
JAPN
165a
The Tale of Genji
[
hum
nw
oc
]
Often called "the world's first novel," The Tale of Genji has captivated readers with its narrative of love, rivalry, friendship, and loss for centuries. This class explores what has given the text its prominent place in Japanese and world literature. Usually offered every third year.
Matthew Fraleigh
NEJS
129a
Gender, Sex, and the Family in Ancient Near East and Beyond
[
hum
]
In the ancient world, the family was a critical site for the construction of gender, sex, and sexuality of its members. In this course, we will explore how identities such as father, mother, and child were constructed in ancient discourse. We will use feminist and queer perspectives to unpack texts from the ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman world, the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament. Special one-time offering, spring 2020.
Sari Fein
NEJS
140b
Gender, Ghettos, and the Geographies of Early Modern Jews
[
hum
]
Examines Jewish history and culture in early modern Europe: mass conversions on the Iberian peninsula, migrations, reconversions back to Judaism, the printing revolution, the Reformation and Counter Reformation, ghettos, gender, family, everyday life, material culture, communal structure, rabbinical culture, mysticism, magic, science, messianic movements, Hasidism, mercantilism, and early modern challenges to Judaism.
ChaeRan Freeze or Eugene Sheppard
NEJS
177a
The Holocaust in Israeli and Jewish Literature
[
hum
]
Taught in English.
A broad survey of Holocaust writings in Modern Jewish literature. Examines the psychological, social, moral, and aesthetic challenges involved in representing the Holocaust in Israeli, American, and European context through literary texts, theoretical research, works of art, and film. Usually offered every third year.
Ilana Szobel
NEJS
181a
Jews on Screen: From "Cohen’s Fire Sale" to the Coen Brothers
[
hum
]
Open to all students.
Survey course focusing on moving images of Jews and Jewish life in fiction and factual films. Includes early Russian and American silents, home movies of European Jews, Yiddish feature films, Israeli cinema, independent films, and Hollywood classics. Usually offered every second year.
Sharon Rivo
NEJS
183b
Global Jewish Literature
[
hum
wi
]
May not be taken for credit by students who took NEJS 171a in prior years.
Introduces important works of modern Jewish literature, graphic fiction, and film. Taking a comparative approach, it addresses major themes in contemporary Jewish culture, interrogates the "Jewishness" of the works and considers issues of language, poetics, and culture significant to Jewish identity. Usually offered every second year.
Ellen Kellman
NEJS
193a
Pirates, Mystics and Scholars: Travel Literature from the Islamic World
[
hum
]
Studies medieval and early modern travelogues from the Islamic world in English translation. These works provide us with a candid view of the Muslim Mediterranean including things like urban topography, social life, orthodox and subversive religious practices, status of minorities, conditions and limits of hospitality and so on. Usually offered every second year.
Suleyman Dost
RECS
161b
Slavic Folklore and Myth: Epic Heroes, Lucky Fools, Iron-Toothed Witches and the Undead
[
hum
]
Explores the magical and mysterious world of Russian and Slavic folklore, including folk mythology and demonology, seasonal rituals and folk magic, proverbs and riddles, folk tales and oral epic poetry. Coursework will consist of readings, discussions, papers, and projects. Usually offered every year.
Curt Woolhiser
SAS
101a
Women Writers from South Asia
[
hum
nw
]
Includes literature by South Asian women writers such as Amrita Pritam, Ismat Chugtai, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kamila Shamsie, Tahmina Anam, and Chandini Lokuge. Some of the works were originally written in English, while others have been translated from the vernacular. Usually offered every second year.
Harleen Singh
SAS
110b
New Nations, New Stories: Postcolonial Literature
[
hum
nw
]
Examines the postcolonial novel written in English within the shared history of colonialism, specifically British imperialism, for South Asia. Writers include R.K. Narayan, Salman Rushdie, Anita Desai, Arundhati Roy, Mohsin Hamid, Romesh Gunesekera and Daniyal Mueenudin. Usually offered every second year.
Harleen Singh
SAS
140a
We Who Are at Home Everywhere: Narratives from the South Asian Diaspora
[
hum
]
Looks at narratives from various locations of the South Asian Diaspora, while paying close attention to the emergence of an immigrant South Asian public culture. Examines novels, poetry, short stories, film, and music in order to further an understanding of South Asian immigrant culture. Usually offered every third year.
Harleen Singh
THA
115b
The Avant-Gardes in Performance
[
ca
hum
]
Explores the avant-garde movements including symbolism, decadence, futurism, constructivism, Dada, surrealism, expressionism, existentialism, pop art and happenings, performance art, minimalism, and postmodernism as alternative forms of expression that challenge mainstream art. Attention is paid to the interactions among theater, painting, dance, music, and film. Usually offered every second year.
Dmitry Troyanovsky
THA
133b
Acting the Classics
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: THA 11a, THA 11b and THA 21b or permission of the instructor. Four class hours per week.
Explores specific approaches to rehearsing and performing in the heightened world of classical texts, including William Shakespeare. The course is designed to release the actor’s creative energies by stimulating an appetite for size, power and extravagant physical/vocal communication, to deepen the actor’s analytical skills and free the actor for greater intellectual and emotional engagement. You will develop a respect for and understanding of form while gaining ease and joy in the fully realized expression of heightened language texts. Usually offered every second year.
Marya Lowry
THA
185b
Advanced Playwriting and Dramatic Structure
[
ca
]
Prerequisites: THA 11a, THA 11b and THA 71a or permission of the instructor.
Students write plays inspired by the dramatic structures of scripts from the Greeks to the present. Texts analyzed include works by Euripides, Seneca, Hegel, Aristotle, Racine, Sarah Kane, Lope de Vega, Shakespeare, Harold Pinter, Richard Greenberg, Caryl Churchill, Arthur Schnitzler, David Hare, Sergi Belbel, and Kuan Han-ch’ing. Usually offered every second year.
Ryan McKittrick