This course presents a view of the U.S. from the vantage of immigrants, real and fictionalized, from a variety of cultures. Writers include: Upton Sinclair, Pietro di Donato, Jerzy Kosinski, Yoshiko Ushida, Jamaica Kincaid, and Frank McCourt. Among the films viewed are: The Emigrants, Hester Street, El Norte, Godfather II, Green Card, Eat a Bowl of Tea, and Anna. Short papers and discussions. 6 credits, AL, RAD
Fall —D. Nemec Ignashev
120. Ancient Literary Theory and Criticism
Cross-listed with CLAS 120. An introduction to the major themes of Greco-Roman critical thought, including: poetic inspiration, literary mimesis, the role of rhetoric, formalism and the sublime. Among the texts we will read will be Aristotle’s Poetics, “Longinus’s” On Sublimity, and Horace’s Art of Poetry. There will be some consideration of practice as well as theory. All readings will be in English. 6 credits, AL
Winter — C. Wooten
132. The European Novel and its Discontents (Topics in Comparative Literature)
We will begin the course by reading such modern European classics as Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, Proust’s Swann’s Way, and Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground. Then, turning to more recent works by Kundera, Duras, Sebbar and Gaite, we will examine both feminist and post-colonial revolutions within the novel’s development. This course provides an introduction to comparative literature and fulfills the English major requirement for a course in literature other than English. 6 credits, AL
Spring — C. Yandell
231. Damsels, Dwarfs and Dragons: Medieval German Literature
Cross-listed with GERM 231. Around the year 1200 German poets wrote some of the most lasting works in the Western literary tradition. It was a time of courtly love and Arthurian romances, and themes vary widely from love and honor to revenge and murder. In this course attention will be focused on the poetry of Walther von der Vogelweide and on two major epics: The Nibelungenlied and Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan and Isolde. In translation. 3 credits, AL
Winter — R. Paas
233. Cultures in Conflict: The Reception of Shakespeare in Germany
Cross-listed with GERM 233. Shakespeare was rediscovered in the eighteenth century and rapidly became an icon in the struggle between conflicting social and literary tastes. Although this cultural battle was fought primarily between the French and the English, German writers such as Goethe, Herder, and Lessing were also key participants. This course will focus on the German contribution to Shakespeare reception and will place it within the broader context of the cultural debate in eighteenth century Europe. In translation. 3 credits, AL
Winter —R. Paas
240. Flight of the Firebird: Peoples, Languages and Legends of Eurasia
Cross-listed with RUSS 240. This course surveys the diversity of nations—large and small—inhabiting Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Western Siberia. Topics will include geography, historical linguistics, religion, and folklore. Readings from primary and secondary sources will be combined with film, music, and electronic resources. Analytical techniques will range from the encyclopedic catalogues and grammars of eighteenth-century neo-classicism to post-colonialist discourse analysis. Taught in English, foreign language is not prerequisite, but encouraged. 6 credits, AL, RAD
Not offered in 1999-2000.
245. Introduction to Critical Methods: Structure, Gender, Culture
What does it mean to theorize the way we read? For one thing, it means to reflect on the assumptions already implicit in our reading habits; for another, it invites us to challenge those assumptions to see what might be gained. Changes of perspective can have significant impact, for the set of questions we bring to our reading largely determines the answers we come away with. In this course we will study a range of critical issues and movements, and we will examine how they can influence our reading of texts (prose, poetry, film) drawn from a variety of national traditions. Open only to declared majors of literature or language programs or permission of instructor. 6 credits, AL
Winter — S. Carpenter
250. Bad Girls/Good Art: Gender and Culture in a Postmodern World
Cross-listed with WMST 250. This course presents an overview of self-proclaimed or otherwise claimed “lesbian” texts and contexts since World War II, drawn from diverse communities (in and outside the US), and discussed in light of post-modernist and (post)-feminist theories of the construction of gender and of culture. The course combines lecture with discussion, verbal and visual art, fiction and non-fiction. Artists examined include Ann Bannon, Rita Mae Brown, Leslie Feinberg, Ferron, Audre Lorde, Ulrike Ottinger, Carmelita Tropicana, Jeannette Winterson, and Monique Wittig. 6 credits, AL, RAD
Spring — D. Nemec Ignashev
251. Digitized Culture
Cross-listed with AMST 251 and ENTS 251. What does it mean to be in the midst of a “Digital Age?” What are the presuppositions of information technologies, virtual realities, and artifical intelligence? Focusing on such phenomena as artifical (as opposed to natural) languages and virtual reality, this course investigates the impact new technologies have had on the way we structure, understand, and represent our world. Readings range from Heidegger to current postmodern theory; projects and guest speakers will help address topics as diverse as literature, music, film, and studio arts. 6 credits, AL
Not offered in 1999-2000.
270. Degeneration and the Fin de Siècle
In Europe at the end of the nineteenth century, the prevailing faith in forward progress was counterbalanced by the notion that Western civilization might actually be in decline—a decline characterized by neurosis, criminality and social decay. This course will examine biological, anthropological and philosophical theories of degeneration and their impact on the intellectual history, popular culture and belles lettres of the time. After studying theoretical treatises by Morel, Lombroso, Nordau and Tolstoy, we will discuss the works of so-called “degenerate” artists such as Zola, Ibsen and Nietzsche. No prerequisite, but opportunities for using knowledge of French, German, Russian or Italian. 6 credits, AL
