Course Catalog

Traces the development of Edinburgh from the Act of Union with England (1707) to the present, through architecture, philosophy, religion, cultural history, literature, and film. Links the city to Scotland's attempt to define its identity and achieve greater political autonomy. Some authors studied include David Hume, Adam Smith, Irvine Welsh. Includes a study trip to Edinburgh.

In-depth study of Ancient Greek and Latin texts or authors of both literary and philosophical interest. Subjects may include, e.g., the comparison of a Greek and a Roman philosopher; close reading of the oeuvre, or part of an oeuvre, of one author; the literary and philosophical analysis of a collection of thematically and generically connected passages
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Workshops a range of professional writing and presentation skills for the cultural sphere (cultural journalism, reviewing, grant applications, creative pitches, page layout). Students collectively produce and maintain a website of cultural activity in Paris. Practical work is placed in cultural and theoretical contexts, including introduction to the publication industry, legal contexts, and cultural studies.

Presents the work of Chaucer in the perspective of the European philosophical, humanistic, and poetic developments of his age. The Latin philosophical background includes consideration of the Augustinian ideal of Christian humanism and the traditions of speculation on Divine Providence. Considers the French poetic tradition and multilingual poetic traditions supporting the generic diversity of The Canterbury Tales.

Introduces the Renaissance ideal through Petrarca and Cervantes. Examines: lyric origins of the love sonnet and sequence with influence across Europe; narrative, with relations of the novella collection to medieval antecedents and the birth of the novel; drama, in connection to classical and modern comedy and tragedy. Includes: Petrarch, Boccaccio, La Celestina, Machiavelli, picaresque novel, feminist poetry, and Golden Age drama.

Fulfills the Renaissance period requirement for the major in Comparative Literature. Original language option Spanish or Italian.

This course develops a philosophical analysis of three major ruptures in the history of theater: first, the initial Greek encounter between philosophy and theater; second the emergence of realism from Diderot to Stanislavsky; and finally modernism, marked by the groundbreaking explorations of Meyerhold, Brecht and Artaud. Four plays will be studied in tandem with theatrical manifestoes and philosophical texts.

This course is bilingual in nature and outlines the historical and literary contexts of the Renaissance from a Franco-centric perspective. Students will study texts by a range of Renaissance authors (including Erasmus, Rabelais, Marguerite de Navarre, Louise Labé, Montaigne, Marlowe and Shakespeare) while learning about earlymodern book culture, medicine, cartography, religion, colonization, magic, monsters, witchcraft and plagues. They shall also seek to comprehend how France became dominant in language and literature throughout Europe for centuries to follow.

Examines differing perspectives on the discovery, conquest and creation of the New World: Columbus and the encounter of difference; Cortes and the Aztecs; and, 500 years later, the events seen through works of contemporary fiction and post-colonial theory. Includes 15th-and 16th-century documents, Aztec civilization, and 20th-century literature by Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, and Carlos Fuentes.

Paris has always been a fertile meeting ground for artists and stimulates the imaginations of newcomers and natives alike. Writers, artists and—in the 20th century—filmmakers have come together in this magical space and shared their fascination with a city of lights, communally recognizing its potential to become home to their fantasies and at times, their despair. Students consider how the Parisian urban landscape is imagined differently by French native vs. expatriate or immigrant writers and filmmakers. They study the comparative methods for visualizing the city unique to writers and filmmakers respectively and gain historical perspective on the central place played by Paris in the evolution of literature and cinema. Titles for viewing and critical reading include: Alain Resnais’ Same Old Song, Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris and its contexts; André Breton’s Nadja; Raymond Queneau’s Zazie in the Metro and André Techiné’s The Girl on the RER. Excerpts from Jean-Luc Godard’s Parisian cycle will also be analyzed.

This course offers close engagement with recently translated fiction and poetry from around the globe. In addition to reading great contemporary writing, students are introduced to today’s new media landscape, which has taken on an increasingly important role in the promotion and evaluation of global literature. Units on the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.