Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • 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. Also offered as CAS CI 390 B1.
  • CAS XL 387: The Holocaust Through Film
    An examination of film using the Holocaust as its central topic. What are the political and cultural effects when genocide is represented through film? Can feature films portray history, and if so, what are the consequences for an informed society? This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-intensive Course.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • 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. Also offered as CAS LY 441. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • 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. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Ethical Reasoning.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Ethical Reasoning
  • CAS XL 470: Topics in Comparative Literature
    May be repeated for credit if topic is different. Topic for Fall 2019: Queer Theory. Surveys major texts and arguments in queer theory from Butler's Gender Trouble to contemporary discussions of cisnormativity, homonationalism, affect, pinkwashing, crip theory, and queer- of-color critique. Explores different uses of queer theory in legal debates, literary analysis, and cultural criticism.
  • CAS XL 479: WLL Senior Seminar
    Through discussions of intercultural reading and translation, bibliographic assignments, student presentations, workshops, and work with a faculty language mentor, seniors majoring in WLL use this course to develop their final project: a substantial scholarly paper, translation, or creative work in a foreign language. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS XL 491: Directed Study: Comparative Literature
    Application form available in department.
  • CAS XL 492: Directed Study: Comparative Literature
    Application form available in department.
  • 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 2018. Students may take one or both for credit. Section A1: Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov. Close, careful study of Dostoevsky's masterpiece, with eye to philosophical, theological, cultural, literary significance; explores Dostoevsky's reinvention of the novel alongside questions of morality, justice, selfhood, modernity, the meaning of life. In English. (No prerequisites required for this particular topic.) Also offered as CAS LR 456 A1 and CAS RN 524 A1. Section B1: Gender and Religion in the Graphic Novel. Examines the aesthetics of comic art and the graphic novel as they emphasize gendered, religious, and cultural identities. Focus on Judaism and Islam, two storytelling traditions that use graphic novels to transport readers in time and space. Also offered as CAS RN 524 B1 and CAS WS 300 C1.

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