Comparative Literature (COLT)

The terms indicated are expected but are not guaranteed. For the courses offered during any given term, consult the Schedule of Classes.

150xg Literature and Western Civilization I (4, Fa) Introduction to major literary works of Western civilization from antiquity through the Renaissance in their historical and cultural contexts (periodization, genres, society, and the arts). Not available for major credit.

151xg Literature and Western Civilization II (4, Sp) Introduction to major literary and philosophical works of Western civilization from the 17th to 20th centuries in their historical and cultural contexts (periodization, genres, society, and the arts). Not available for major credit.

155xgm Third World Literatures and Cultures (4, FaSp) Issues common to African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American societies: underdevelopment, change and revolution; the colonial heritage; parallels and contrasts with the West. Not available for major credit.

210g The Bible as Literature (4, FaSp) The Bible will be read as an expression of man's literary creativity. Examination of literary genres, themes, and styles in the Old and New Testaments.

261gm Comparative Studies in Black Culture (4, FaSp) Black culture and identity in Africa and the Americas: dilemmas of racial, cultural conflict and integration, vis-à-vis United States and Western culture in general.

262 Masterpieces in East Asian Literature (4) Introduction to the literature of East Asia in translation, principally the literature of Japan and China.

264g Asian Aesthetic and Literary Tradition (4) A comparative study of the Asian aesthetic heritage of poetry, painting, music, and drama; of literary themes, trends, and myths.

270g The Short Story in World Literature (4, FaSp) Study of the development of the short story as a specific literary genre in various literatures from the Middle Ages to the present.

271g The Novel in World Literature I (4, Fa) Origins and development of the novel in the Western and non-Western traditions up to the modern period.

272g The Novel in World Literature II (4, Sp) The study of selected modern novels, in the Western and non-Western traditions, with particular attention to the various genres.

274g The One-Act Play in World Drama (4) Development of the one-act play as a specific dramatic genre from the Middle Ages to the present; the influence on radio and television drama.

301 Introduction to Comparative Literature (4, Fa) Introduction to methods of comparative analysis and interpretation. Works will be studied through various comparative categories that may include genre, period, movements, and interdisciplinary approaches.

310 Spirituality and Literature (4) Cross-cultural study of the literary forms, from ethno-poetic chants to contemporary novels and plays, through which writers have expressed their religious and spiritual beliefs. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 360.)

312 Heroes, Myths and Legends in Literature and the Arts (4) Study of transformations of characters and themes from myth, legend or fairytale (Oedipus, Antigone, Faust, Don Juan, Cinderella, Comic and Tragic Twins, Hero and Monster). (Duplicates credit in former COLT 383.)

324 Women in the European Middle Ages (4) Study of the literary, social and cultural lives of women during the European Middle Ages by reading and analyzing texts written by and about women. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 460.)

330 Lyric Interactions: Poetry, Self and Society (4) Lyric poetry as communicative interaction between individuals and groups in premodern to modern societies, with interdisciplinary approaches from communication theory, cultural history and social psychology. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 302.)

343 The Rise of the Novel, 1500-1800 (4) A survey of influential pre-modern narratives, from picaresque and epistolary designs to psychological, sociomoral, and historicist strategies by Cervantes, Defoe, Fielding, Richardson, Voltaire, Laclos, Goethe. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 463.)

345 Realist Fiction (4) Study of the ways literature presents the "real" (social and/or individual) through readings of selected novels and short stories in the realist and naturalist traditions. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 465.)

348 Modernist Fiction (4) Study of the Modernist aesthetic in narrative texts by Gide, Joyce, Kafka, Woolf and others; possible focus on related trends in other literary traditions. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 470.)

351 Modern and Contemporary Drama (4) Comparative study of major modern dramatic trends, subgenres, and techniques, through representative works from Strindberg to the Theatre of the Grotesque and the Absurd. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 305.)

357 The Avant-Garde (4, max 8) Study of the relationship between literary modes and other arts since 1900, focusing on particular avant-garde movements. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 306ab.)

365 Literature and Popular Culture (4) Study of popular culture (e.g., movies, science fiction, detective novel, mass media, the occult, and other popular modes) in European and American literatures. Comparisons with non-Western literatures. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 375.)

374g Women Writers in Europe and America (4) Introduction to works of major women writers from the Middle Ages to the 20th century in their literary, social, and cultural contexts. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 265g.)

376 Women in Contemporary Literature and the Arts (4) Cross-cultural study of contemporary works by women throughout the world in both literature and the visual arts. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 386.)

382g Zen and Taoism in Asian Literature (4) Studies of the presence and influence of Zen Buddhism and Taoism in Asian literature, with a focus on China and Japan.

385 Pan-African Literature and Culture (4) Comparative studies in African writers; examination of comparable works by European and Black writers in the West. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 462.)

388 U.S. Latino Fiction and the Literatures of the Americas (4) Reading and comparative study of narrative fiction by U.S. Latino, Spanish American, and American writers. Spanish majors prepare assignments in Spanish. Conducted in English. Recommended preparation: reading knowledge of Spanish.

390 Special Problems (1-4) Supervised, individual studies. No more than one registration permitted. Enrollment by petition only.

391 Seminar in Literary Criticism (4) Introduction to major critical texts in the Western tradition from the beginnings to the present; particular attention to 20th-century criticism and selected literary texts.

401 Senior Seminar on a Comparative Literary Topic (4, Sp) Study of a selected topic employing a comparative perspective on literature.

420 The Fantastic (4) Representative works from the "fantastic" and related currents within the European, U.S., and Spanish American traditions; reading of texts by authors such as Borges, Cortazar, Kafka, and Poe. Discussion of relevant theoretical concepts and critical works.

426 Utopias (4) Examination of selected utopias in their historical context as "no places" whose projections of alternate cultures always comment on their own. (Duplicates credit in former COLT 355.)

445gm Eurocentrism (4) Analysis of European texts, music and art from ancient Greece to the present, demonstrating prevalent cultural biases in European dealings with other cultures. (Duplicates credit in former GERM 350.)

448 Transcultural Representations (4) Study of fictional texts, chronicles and travel narratives in which authors depict cultures other than their own; reading and discussion of literary and cultural theory.

454 Aesthetic Philosophy and Theory (4) Introduction to philosophical and critical writings on the nature of art and aesthetic experience. Special attention to technology's impact on art.

472 Criminal Fictions (4) Selected works of crime fiction from European, U.S., and Spanish American traditions of the 19th and 20th centuries by authors such as Borges, Chandler, Chesterton, Christie, Puig, Robbe-Grillet, and Vargas Llosa. Discussion of relevant theoretical concepts and critical works.

475 Politics and the Novel (4) Examination of the modern realist novel with special focus on the representation of social change (revolution, class conflict, sexual politics).

480 Dada and Surrealism (4) A comparative study of Dada and Surrealism in literature in relation to painting, sculpture, photography and cinema.

485 The Shoah (Holocaust) in Literature and the Arts (4) A critical analysis, in their historical contexts, of representative literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works created by or about the victims of the Shoah (Holocaust).

490x Directed Research (2-8, max 8) Individual research and readings. Not available for graduate credit. Prerequisite: departmental approval.

495 Senior Honors Thesis (4) Writing of an honors thesis under individual faculty supervision.

499 Special Topics (2-4, max 8) Intensive study of selected author or authors in the context of a major literary tradition.

501 Theory and Method of Comparative Literature (4, Fa) Introduction to comparative literary study; methods and resources for research; problems in comparative literary analysis, critical concepts, literary history.

502 20th Century Literary Criticism and Theory (4, Sp) Major developments in literary analysis and interpretation since 1900, among them Russian Formalism, new criticism, structuralism, poststructuralism, reception theory, psychoanalytic theory, Marxist criticism, feminist criticism.

510 Studies in Medieval Literature (4) Problems in the development and interrelationships in vernacular literatures in Europe prior to 1500.

520 Studies in the Renaissance and Baroque (4) European literary currents from the revival of learning to the rise of neoclassicism.

530 Studies in Classicism and Neoclassicism (4) Comparative study of texts, forms, and theories of the literature of classical antiquity and of the European neoclassical movement.

540 Studies in the 18th Century (4) Decline of neoclassicism and rise of romanticism in Europe; relationship of literature and 18th-century philosophy, science, and political theory.

550 Studies in European Romanticism (4) Origin, development, and spread of literary romanticism, with particular emphasis upon Germany, England, and France.

560 Studies in Realism and Naturalism (4) Origin and development of realism, theory of realism; readings of selected texts representative of realism and naturalism.

561 Comparative Studies in Black Literature (4) Negritude, Black Revolution, and other Pan-African themes in African and Caribbean literature; the role of Western philosophy and literature in Black literature.

562 Women as Writers in World Literature (4) Comparative studies of women writers from a variety of cultures; special emphasis on feminist and other self-images in works from Europe, the Americas, Africa.

565 Studies in East Asian Literary Traditions (4) Analysis of genres, myths, archetypes, aesthetic motifs and movements.

570 Studies of 20th-Century Literature (4) Studies in currents of 20th-century literature; studies in symbolism, surrealism, existentialism.

580 Advanced Studies in Comparative Literature (4, max 8) Intensive study of special problems in literary relations between two or more authors or literatures. May be repeated for credit.

581 Studies in Literary Criticism and Theory (4, max 12) Intensive study of a theoretical tradition or critical movement, or of an individual topic or thinker, in literary criticism or theory. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: departmental approval.

582 Studies in Interdisciplinary Approaches to Literature (4, max 12) Study of the interrelationship between literature and such fields as anthropology, philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, gender studies, or psychology; emphasis to change each semester. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: departmental approval.

590 Directed Research (1-12) Research leading to the master's degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

594abz Master's Thesis (2-2-0) Credit on acceptance of thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.

610 Seminar in Drama (4) Problems in dramatic theory, in the history of the drama, and in comparative analysis of dramatic forms, techniques, and themes.

630 Seminar in East-West Literary Relations (4) Problems in literary borrowings and influences between the principal literary traditions of the East and the West.

650 Seminar in Fiction (4) Problems in theory of the novel and short story; comparative analysis of structure, characterization, style, point of view. Themes in selected European and American texts.

665 Seminar in Comparative Mythology and Folklore (4) Study of mythological and folktale systems from various cultures as a basis for the analysis of literary forms, genres, and interpretation.

670ab Seminar in Poetry (4-4) Origin, development, and criticism of poetic forms; theory and problems of poetic translation.

790 Research (1-12) Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

794abcdz Doctoral Dissertation (2-2-2-2-0) Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

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