CMLT 200 9 - Discourses in Comparative Literature

The purpose of “Discourses in Comparative Literature” is to provide a theoretical foundation for subsequent courses offered in the Department of Comparative Literature. The Comparative Literature major or minor is the cross-cultural and cross-temporal study of foreign literatures in English translation. As part of this comparative study, we examine articulations of cultures from around the world and over time as well as the various modes of inquiry that comprise the field of Comparative Literature. What does “culture” and its concomitant ideas of “humanity” and “civilization” mean? How does literature play a role in the transmission of these questions about our individual being and our place in the grand scheme of society, the world, and nature? The purpose of this seminar is to provide the historical and theoretical foundations of Comparative Literature and to introduce students to the literature and themes of subsequent courses offered in the department. Questions we will explore are 1) What is Comparative Literature? 2) What is the difference between Comparative Literature and World Literature? 3) Who are the major global literary theorists? 4) What does it mean to read literature in a comparative way? Finally, because we read works that are in translation, we will introduce you to the theory and art of translating literature. What happens to our reading experience when what we are reading is a translation of a work through the translator’s language rather than that of the author’s original language? The course is intended for students who are or are considering Comparative Literature as a major or minor. This is a required course for the Comparative Literature major and minor. Prerequisite: at least one prior course in the Department of Comparative Literature or permission of the instructor. (Group III) (Writing Option)