XL 100 Explorations in World Literature: Leaving Home

Fall 2017
CAS XL 100
Explorations in World Literature: Leaving Home

Growing up
Wisdom quest
Migration
Sightseeing
Escape

The theme of leaving home shapes many of the most memorable characters and narratives in world literature, from Sindbad to the Shining Prince Genji, from Snow White to Monkey’s Journey to the West, all the way to modern narratives of urbanization, mass migration, and rapid social change.

This course explores how the world’s great literatures have represented and shaped the experience of leaving home. Which elements of this human experience cut across cultures and time periods, and which are specific to particular societies and ways of reading? We will discuss fairy tales, epic, saga, poetry, novels, short stories, and films from four continents, examining characters and writers who left home (and some, like Emily Dickinson, who stayed). We will also look at how literary works themselves “leave home” through translation and adaptation.

XL 100 serves as an integrating introduction to world literature and to all of WLL’s major and minor concentrations. All readings are in English, but if you know other languages, you will get a chance to use them. This course is required for all WLL majors: Chinese, Japanese, German, Russian, and Comparative Literature, and can count for all WLL minors.

Co-taught by
Peter J. Schwartz
German Literature
&
Sunil Sharma
Persian & Indian Literature

With regular guest lectures by WLL faculty

Lecture: Tuesdays 3:30 – 4:45
Discussion sections: Thursdays 3:30 – 4:45

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