Courses

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

• CAS XL 491: Directed Study: Comparative Literature
  Application form available in the department.
• CAS XL 492: Directed Study: Comparative Literature
  Application form available in the department.
• CAS XL 525: Judith Butler
  Undergraduate prerequisites: two previous XL, WS, or PH courses; or consent of instructor. Graduate prerequisites: graduate standing. - An intensive study of Judith Butler's philosophical thought and social theory from the 1990s to the present, with an emphasis on the continuities and discontinuities between Butler's early work on gender performativity and more recent writings on racial justice, war, and violence. Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, The Individual in Community .
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  • Critical Thinking
  • The Individual in Community
  • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
• CAS XL 530: Marxist Cultural Criticism
  An introduction to Marxist cultural criticism that examines the transformation of concepts in classic Marxism (Marx, Lukacs, Althusser, Adorno, and Gramsci) into contemporary debates about race, gender, sexuality, colonialism, modernity, and language (Said, Zizek, Spivak, and others). Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • The Individual in Community
  • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
• CAS XL 540: Translation Seminar
  Prerequisites: proficiency in a second language. - Translation seminar where students produce substantial literary translations into English from their language of choice with the guidance of the instructor and language-specific mentors. Students hone their translation skills, read, and discuss articles about practical issues of translation.
• CAS XL 541: Translation Today
  Weekly lectures and discussions with prominent literary translators from Boston and elsewhere. Students engage with a variety of languages and several genres: poetry, drama, essay, fiction, and more. Focus on concrete, practical translation issues arising from the speakers' work. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, The Individual in Community, Creativity/Innovation.
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  • Creativity/Innovation
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • The Individual in Community
• CAS XL 550: Topics in Literary Criticism
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: two literature courses. - Topics vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit if topic changes. Topic for Spring 2023: This course is an introduction to Marxist cultural criticism that examines the transformation of concepts from classic Marxism (Marx, Lukacs, Althusser, Adorno, and Gramsci) into contemporary debates about race, gender, sexuality, colonialism, modernity, and language.