Topics in Big Fat Books

CAS XL 230

  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Writing-Intensive Course

Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 100 or WR 120) - Enters deeply into the world of one literary work and explores its reverberations across national and disciplinary boundaries. Topic for Fall 2024: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. Topics for Spring 2025: Section A1: Marcel Proust's Swann's Way. Read, discuss, and slowly savor the first volume of Marcel Proust's stunning masterpiece In Search of Lost Time. Taught in English translation and in conjunction with WLL's annual "Big Fat Books" symposium. Section B1: Death in Venice. An in-depth reading of one of the most crafted and allusive short works in modern literature, together with Mann’s diverse sources from Euripides and Plato to Wagner and homoerotic photography; two films and an opera based on Mann’s story. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Writing-Intensive Course.

FALL 2024 Schedule

Section Instructor Location Schedule Notes
A1 Waters IEC B13 TR 2:00 pm-3:15 pm

SPRG 2025 Schedule

Section Instructor Location Schedule Notes
A1 Vincent CDS 163 MWF 10:10 am-11:00 am Read, discuss, and slowly savor the first volume of Marcel Proust's stunning masterpiece In Search of Lost Time. Taught in English translation and in conjunction with WLL's annual 'Big Fat Books' symposium.

SPRG 2025 Schedule

Section Instructor Location Schedule Notes
B1 Waters STH 636 TR 12:30 pm-1:45 pm An in-depth reading of one of the most crafted and allusive short works in modern literature, together with Mann’s diverse sources from Euripides and Plato to Wagner and homoerotic photography; two films and an opera based on Mann’s story.

Note that this information may change at any time. Please visit the MyBU Student Portal for the most up-to-date course information.