World Literature

This course introduces students to the comparative study of works of literature from various cultures, read in English translation. We consider diversity of place, social context, politics, history, genre, tradition, and literary movements. We look at literature in relation to its original cultural context and also at the way books communicate to other cultures and to us. The works, cultures, and thematic emphasis will vary from year to year. This course will be team-taught with instructors from different departments. Students may with permission read works in the original language.

This seminar introduces students to a variety of theoretical approaches to literary translation, as well as experience in translating literary texts. The course will begin with a history of approaches to translation, by reading both theoretical essays and a set of common texts in multiple translations, including works of classical and Biblical literature as well as contemporary prose and poetry. Each student will then undertake a translation of a short work of fiction or poetry with the goal of producing a publishable text in English. Students may work from any language into English or from a dialect or historical variety of English into a contemporary idiom. The seminar will feature guest lectures by Drew faculty from various programs whose work includes literary translation speaking about their own projects and experience as translators.

Signature of instructor required for registration.

Prerequisite: WLIT 101 or permission of instructor.

An interdisciplinary and comparative introduction to important elements of both traditional and modern Chinese culture, including history, language, literature, art, philosophy/religion, family/marriage, and science/technology/medicine.

Course may be repeated.

Offered: spring semester in even-numbered years.

Chinese literature, cinema, and drama of the twentieth century, a time when China faced western challenges to its national identity and cultural tradition. Texts of the twentieth century are distinctively modern, covering such issues as westernization and tradition, revolution, family restructuring and women's role in society.

Course may be repeated.

Offered: fall semester.

A study of Greek and Roman myth and legend in literature and art, with an exploration of the basic meaning of myth and its nature and function in various cultures. Considers the Indo-European and Near Eastern sources of classical myths as well as their influence in later European art and literature.

Offered: spring semester annually.

Reading, analysis, and interpretation of selected classics of Greek and Roman literature, including Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Vergil's Aeneid, and representative selections from comedy, love-poetry, and Athenian tragedy. Provides an introduction to ancient life and thought and builds a foundation for the study of other literatures that draw heavily on the classical tradition.

May be repeated for credit with permission of the department as the emphasis of the course varies.

Offered: Offering varies.

Study of selected topics from Greek and Roman civilization, literature and archaeology. Topics change from year to year and include the Trojan War; the Golden Age of Athens; Rome of Caesar and Augustus; sport and spectacle in Greece and Rome; Alexander the Great; classics and computers; classics in cinema; Greek and Latin roots of English.

May be repeated for credit as topic changes.

Offered: Offering to be determined.

Reading and analysis of selected works in the Western literary tradition from ancient to early medieval periods. Approaches may vary from a survey of works from Homer to Augustine, to a topical approach such as a study of justice and individual choice represented in the works, to a genre approach such as a study of epic.

Offered: fall semester.

Reading and analysis of selected works in the Western literary tradition from the High Middle-Ages to the modern period. Approaches may vary from a survey of works from Dante to Woolf, to a topical approach such as a study of power represented in the works, to a genre approach such as a study of prose narrative.

Offered: spring semester.

An examination of literature in English by authors residing in or originating from English speaking nations other than Britain and America. The course may focus on literature from any one region, such as the Caribbean or South Asia; one nation, such as South Africa, Australia, or India; or a continent, such as Africa. It may explore the literature of those who emigrate from those regions, connections between the literature of those who remain at home and those who leave, the effects of colonialism on the nation, or the development of national literatures after colonialism. The course may also focus on specific historical moments, such as apartheid South Africa or Indian partition; or problems, such as the definition of "postcolonial," hybridity and identity, or the development of global Englishes.

Offered: in alternate fall semesters.

Prerequisite: ENGL 250, ENGL 251, ENGL 252 and ENGL 253

A critical reading of novels written in French by women from the late 17th through the 20th centuries. The study of 20th-century authors also includes women writers from the Francophone world (Quebec, Africa, and the Caribbean).

Course may be repeated.

Offered: in 2008-2009.

A study of a topic or topics in a linguistic, cultural, or literary aspect of the French-speaking world not covered by the current offerings of the French Department.

May be repeated for credit as topic changes.

Offered: Offering to be determined.

Prerequisite: FREN 201.

This course focuses on the tradition of rebellion in French-speaking areas of North Africa, resulting in a literary tradition in which protest, primarily against an outside, but later against an internal presence, develops as an important mode of political expression. The role of women in Tunisian, Algerian, and Moroccan societies is an aspect of the challenge to existing social practices. Documents are explored from different modes and fields, including historical, sociological, and literary sources. Crosslisted with MEST. Offered triennially.

Prerequisite: Prerequisite: FREN 310 or the equivalent.

A study of a topic or topics in Italian culture or literature not covered by the current offerings of the French and Italian Department. Offered in English. May be repeated for credit as topic changes. Students may elect a two-credit module stopping at mid-semester.

Course may be repeated.

Offered: Offering to be determined.

An examination, through English translation, of one or more literary traditions of the Middle East. The focus of the course varies from one semester to the next. In any given semester, the course may center on Arabic, Israeli, Persian, Turkish, or other literature of the region in translation, or on a comparison of two or more of these traditions. Literary genres and themes covered in this course may also vary. For example, the course may focus primarily on prose, such as novels and short stories, or center on particular themes, such as conflict or construction of identity.

May be repeated for credit as topic changes.

Offered: Offering to be determined.

Russian literature is renowned for its probing explorations of human relationships and the "eternal questions" of human existence. This course surveys Russian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries with an emphasis on the recurring pattern of strong heroines and superfluous heroes found in the works of such writers as Pushkin, Lermontov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, and Bulgakov, as well as in selections from more recent Soviet and post-Soviet Russian writers.

Offered: fall semester in odd-numbered years.

A history of the development of Russian literature from the 18th century to the present focusing on the relationship between individual writers and state control of the arts in the Imperial, Soviet and post-Soviet periods. The course will examine publishing and censorship practices and trace the various ways in which Russian writers managed to communicate with their readers despite state controls. Readings include works by Radishchev, Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky,  and Soviet dissident writers. All readings in English translation.

Offered: Fall semester in even-number years.

An in-depth study of a topic in Russian cultural studies or of a particular theme, genre or major work of Russian literature read in English translation (students with advanced language skills may opt to do readings in the original). Offerings may include such topics as the Russian short story, post-Soviet Literature, Russian plays, Slavic Folk Culture or Russian Art and Architecture.

Course may be repeated.

Offered: spring semester.

A study of a topic or topics in a linguistic, cultural, or literary aspect of the Hispanic world not covered by the current offerings of the Spanish department. In any given semester the course may be offered as a single four-credit unit or divided into two separate topics, each carrying two credits.

May be repeated for credit as topic changes.

A study of the major developments in Latin American literature and film in the past half century. First we concentrate on the literary aesthetics of the "Boom" - the movement that propelled Latin American literature into world recognition - and will consider theoretically the use of magical realism through close readings of representative canonical works. The second half of the course will center on the most recent prose and film of new generations of artists (such as the "McOndo" and "Crack Generation" movements, among others) depicting the impact of globalization, transnational forces, consumerism, migrations, and external influences upon Latin American identity. Taught in English.