Courses

• CAS XL 351: The Faust Tradition
  Comparative study of the Faust theme, 1500 to present: Marlowe, Goethe, Mann, Gertrude Stein, Jan Svankmajer, others. Transmission and adaptation of literary themes within and between national traditions. Emphasis on close reading and research, use of theory and criticism. Meets with CAS LG 283.
• CAS XL 356: The Heretical Jew
  Explores heresy in the Jewish context, both in the classic sense and as a category evolving in the secular world. Topics include biblical and rabbinic heretics, early modern and Enlightenment philosophy, post- Holocaust theology, and feminist and gay/lesbian challenges to normative Judaism. Also offered as CAS RN 336.
• CAS XL 381: Topics in Gender and Literature (in English translation)
  Topic for Fall 2011: Men, Women, and Revolution in the Middle East. A diachronic, gendered examination of wars and revolutions that have shaped borders and societies in the Middle East from encounters with 19th century European colonialism to the revolutions of 2011. Analysis based on a variety of texts including social media. Also offered as CAS WS 305 C1.
• CAS XL 383: Dante's Hell (in English translation)
  A close reading of one text, Dante Alighieri's Inferno, with attention to its medieval contexts: philosophical, theological, and historical. Analysis of the poetic means by which Dante represents both human evil and human hope. Bilingual text. Lectures and discussions in English. Also offered as CAS LI 555 and CAS RN 555.
• CAS XL 386: Africa on Screen
  Introduction to the history and analysis of African film. Topics include traditional practices and social change; education; popular culture; immigration; gender roles; sexuality. Discussion of films by Sembene, Mambety, Faye, Folly, Teno, Kobhio.
• CAS XL 401: Sr Indep Work
  
• CAS XL 402: Sr Indep Work
  
• CAS XL 441: 1001 Nights in the World Literary Imagination
  What is The Thousand and One Nights? How has this ever-expanding collection appealed to its diverse audiences? Focus on Nights structure and themes, notable translations and offshoots in western literature and art, and later appropriations by Arab and Muslim writers.
• CAS XL 459: Primo Levi Within Holocaust Literature
  A study of Primo Levi's writings and scientific, literary, theological, and philosophical approaches to the Holocaust. Other theorists (Arendt, Wiesel, and Muller-Hill) and other survivors' testimonies (Delbo, Borowski, Fink) are read in conjunction with Levi's works. Also offered as CAS LI 459 and RN 459.
• CAS XL 470: Topics in Comparative Literature
  Four topics are offered 2011/2012. Students may take one, two, three, or four for credit. Topics for Fall 2011: Section A1: Travel Writing and the Muslim World. Study the development of the travelogue genre from its premodern to modern form. Readings include works by Muslim writers such as Nasir Khusraw and Ibn Battuta, as well as by Western travelers in Muslim lands such as Eliza Fay and Robert Byron. This section is also offered as CAS LY 470. Section B1: Marx, Nietzsche, Freud. Study of the three radical and influential German thinkers. Marx's German Ideology, Communist Manifesto, Grundrisse, Capital; Nietzsche's Beyond Good/Evil, Genealogy of Morals; Freud's Outline, Introductory Lectures, Civilization and Its Discontents. This section is also offered as CAS LG 282. Section C1: The Short Story in Theory and Practice. The short story versus the novel: Is it only a matter of length? Analysis of diverse examples of the genre itself and of what both literary theorists and practitioners of the form have had to say about it. This section is also offered as CAS EN 389. Section D1: Modern Drama. Theatre history from 1870 to 1920. Plays by Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, Wilde, Shaw. The birth of modern techniques of acting, design, and directing. Students stage short scenes; no experience required. This section is also offered as CAS EN 355.
• CAS XL 479: Techniques of Literary Interpretation
  Focus on problems in literary criticism and theory in relation to selected literary texts. Topics and approaches vary.
• CAS XL 491: Ds Comp Lit
  
• CAS XL 492: Ds Comp Lit
  
• CAS XL 520: Theory of the Novel
  Introduction to the theory of the novel in a comparative context. Readings may include Watt, Lukács, Bakhtin, Barthes and others on topics such as narrative voice, narrative closure, characterization, description, and desire in narrative. Novels by Austen, Flaubert, and Melville.
• CAS XL 540: Theory and Practice of Literary Translation
  Weekly series of presentations by translators from Boston and elsewhere, open to registered students and to the public. Registered students complete special projects and attend workshops.
• CAS XL 556: Topics in Literature and Culture
  Topic for Fall 2011: Literature of the Migrant. Eleven novels that all bear on human migrations. Besides examining major issues, focuses on how these books were made. Some texts are translations, but most are written by American authors. Also offered as CAS EN 584.
• CAS XL 560: Topics in Religion and Literature
  Two topics are offered Spring 2011. Students may take one or both for credit. Topic for Section A1: Apocalypse and Literature. Literary response to the biblical book of Revelation from ancient to modern times. Readings from the Bible, Dante, Langland, Rabelais, Blake, Wordsworth, Dostoevsky, Lawrence, Lorca, Beckett, and others. Reference to artistic and musical representations of apocalypse. Also offered as CAS RN 524 A1. Topic for Section B1: The Ramayana. An in-depth introduction to the Ramayana, one of the most popular, versatile, and influential stories the world has known. Together with primary source readings, a sample of scholarship on the poem's literary and theological dimensions as well as its cultural impact. Also offered as CAS RN 524 B1.

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