Comparative Literature

Introduces basic methods of comparative literary study through close readings of some of the most influential texts of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew literature. Readings may include The Arabian Nights, Shahnameh, lyric poetry, and novels from the twentieth century. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing- intensive Course.

Questions of representation in literature and film about the Holocaust, including testimonial and fictive works by Wiesel and Levi, Ozick, and others; films include documentaries and feature films. Discussions of the Holocaust as historical reality, metaphor, and generative force in literature. Also offered as CAS CI 269 A1 and CAS RN 385 A1.

Study of the various narratives about Alexander the Great, also known as Sikandar or Iskandar, as conqueror, philosopher-king, and hero, in medieval Middle Eastern and Asian literatures. Modern filmic representations of the historical figure are also compared. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.

Topic for Fall 2019 pending.

May be taken for credit if topic is different. Three topics are offered Spring 2019. Section A1: From Temples to Television: Popular Culture and Religious Practice in China: explores the impact of Buddhism, Daoism, and local cults on various aspects of Chinese culture, from art and entertainment to architecture and politics. Materials include religious tracts, novels, dramas, television shows, comic books, and art works. Section B1: Melodrama in Japanese Cinema and Literature: Uses Japan as case study to examine melodrama in world film/literature. Considers how genre helps us to better understand a work of art, how cultural differences challenge that understanding, and how melodramatic works explore gender, cultural identity, morality, and sexuality. Section C1: Conceptualizations of the Imagination. What constitutes the “imagination” in literature? How does it manifest in literary forms and media? Examines works from the English, Chinese, and Japanese traditions, and explores how language grants readers access to literary consciousness.

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.

Fall 2019 Topics TBA