Courses in English for Fall 2026 | World Languages & Literatures

Fall 2026 Courses Conducted in English

For all language courses, please see the listings at My BU Student

For information about particular language programs, please contact the language program coordinator listed among “Faculty” in the “People” menu.

Comparative Literature

CAS XL 100: Leaving Home: Explorations in World Literature

TR 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM Sharma

Growing up. Moving to the big city. Wisdom quest. Immigration. Tourism. How have the world’s great literatures portrayed and shaped these experiences? How have literary works themselves found new worlds through translation and adaptation? Counts for credit toward all WLL majors. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. (AEX, GCI)

CAS XL 244: Greek Drama in Translation (Meets with CL 224)

TR 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM Hutcheson

The history and development of ancient Greek theater; study of important plays in the genres of tragedy, comedy, and satyr drama by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Menander. Cannot be taken for credit in addition to CAS CL 324. (AEX, ETR, TWC)

CAS XL 284: War in Arab Literature and Film (Meets with LY 284)

TR 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM Litvin

How do Arab writers and filmmakers depict the region’s defining wars? Comparison to nonfiction and to artworks by Israeli and American artists from the “other side.” All readings in English; knowledge of Arabic or Middle Eastern history is welcome, but none is assumed. (AEX, CRI, PLM)

CAS XL 368: Religion and Film (Meets with RN 203)

TR 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Harrington

Religions and films are world-building engines. They create — and re-create — a visioning of society as a world of justice, of lived myth, of fantasy, of ideology: a world we may long to live in or a world we wish to avoid at all costs. This course explores such worlds by examining the ways in which religious beliefs, practices and people are portrayed in popular film from the 1960s to the present. (AEX, SI1, TWC)

CAS XL 381: Topics in Gender and Literature: Women’s Writing from East to West

T 12:30 PM – 3:15 PM Gillman

Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (CASWR 120 or equivalent).

This course explores prose and poetry by women writers from diverse social, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, who use art to raise their voices in the world: to speak out; protest; claim equality; articulate; and recreate identity. It traces diverse female traditions from Mesopotamia and the Bible through the twenty-first century. It places female voices, at the center, while also offering a model for reading, and shaping identity, in the present. For WGS credit, email Sarah Miller (sarahmil@bu.edu). (AEX, CRI, WIN)

CAS XL 387: The Holocaust Through Film (Meets with CI 387 & JS 367)

TR 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Amihay

Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). – 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? (GCI, HCO, WIN)

CAS XL 398: World Cities: Tokyo (Meets with LJ 388)

R 3:30 PM – 6:15 PM Frederick

Explores the past and present of the vibrant city of Tokyo through literature and visual culture. Includes hand-on experiences mapping literary spaces. Reading and discussion in English. (DME, HCO, RIL)

CAS XL 451 : Visual Politics : Propaganda Art, Literature, and “Model Films” during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (Meets with LC 451 & CI 481)

TR 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM Yeh

Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS WR 100, CAS WR 120 or equivalent. – A study of “model films,” poster art, and literature during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. A critical approach to the larger cultural and political context of socialist art and literature as well as its legacy in China today. (AEX, GCI, WIN)

CAS XL 525: Judith Butler (Meets with PH 525 and WS 525)

R 3:30 PM – 6:15 PM Liu

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. (CRT, IIC, PLM)

Chinese

CAS LC 250: Masterpieces of Classical Chinese Literature

TR 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Yao

Overview of three thousand years of Chinese literature from its beginnings to the threshold of modernity. Discusses masterpieces of one of the world’s oldest continuous traditions in their cultural context and in the context of literatures around the world. (AEX, GCI)

CAS LC 282: Old Tales for New Times: Folktale in Modern China

TR 12:30-1:45 Yeh

Folklore in modern and contemporary China. An interdisciplinary approach to China’s most famous folk tales such as the Weaving Maiden and the Ox Herder, and the White Snake and Mulan. Traces the development of these stories in premodern times and their modern incarnations. (AEX, CRT, HCO)

CAS LC 451: Visual Politics: Propaganda Art, Literature, and “Model Films” during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (Meets with CI 481 & XL 451)

TR 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM Yeh

Hebrew

CAS LH 283: Israeli Culture through Film (Meets with CI 270/JS 283)

TR 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM Amihay

Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (WR 120 or equivalent) – Israeli society, from its origins to contemporary times, through the medium of film. Topics include immigration; war; the impact of the Holocaust; trials of women; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Introduction to film analysis and interpretive methods. Required for the Hebrew minor. (WIN, GCI, AEX)

CAS LH 284: Israel: History, Politics, Culture, Identity (Meets with JS 285/HI 392)

TR 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM Amihay

Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) – Using a broad array of readings, popular music, documentaries, film and art, this course explores Israel’s political system, culture, and society, including the status of minorities in the Jewish state; post-1967 Israeli settlement projects; and the struggle for Israel’s identity. (WIN, IIC, CRT)

Hindi

CAS LN 380: Modern India through Bollywood (Meets with CI 381)

MW 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM Parnami

Explores the social history and culture of modern India through the lens of popular Hindi cinema, commonly called Bollywood. We analyze Bollywood films both as forms of art and as cultural texts, and examine how they reflect and interpret modern Indian society. Course readings focus on theoretical approaches to Hindi cinema, and also shed light on the larger historical and social context that surrounds it. (AEX, CRT, GCI)

Japanese

CAS LJ 250: Masterpieces of Japanese Literature

TR 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Vincent

An introduction to Japanese literary history using Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji as the core text. Use of literary and visual materials. (AE, GCIL)

CAS LJ 282: Samurai, Ships, and Soil: Japan Among the Empires of Asia, 1600-1950 (Meets with HI 370)

TR 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Hua

Exotic as it may seem, Japan was never an isolated island country floating off the coast of Asia. This course offers a new narrative about the history of Japan in relation to the imperial orders and transnational spaces of Asia. (OSC, SO1, CRI)

CAS LJ 283: Modern Japanese Culture in Cinema (in English Translation) (Meets with CI 260)

TR 9:30 AM – 10:45 PM Frederick

Japanese film from the silent era to contemporary animation, with attention to the intersection of cinematic and cultural analysis and genres such as yakuza movies. Directors studied may include Ozu, Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, and Miyazaki Hayao. (AEX, SO1, CRI)

CAS LJ 360: Haiku

TR 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM Vincent

Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (WR 120 or equivalent). – The history and evolving forms of haiku in Japan and around the world. Students write and workshop their own haiku in English or Japanese, learning from great poets how to focus attention, observe nature, read closer, and write better. (WIN, AEX, CRI)

CAS LJ 388: World Cities: Tokyo (Meets with XL 398)
R 3:30 PM – 6:15 PM Frederick

CAS LJ 426: Contemporary Japanese Fiction

W 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM Zielinska-Elliott

Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASWR 100 or equivalent and one prior literature course. – Through readings in 21st-century fiction, this course explores today’s Japan from multiple angles as reflected through the themes preoccupying contemporary writers. Covers a range of genres, from “pure literature” to manga and “light novels.” Readings and discussion in English. (AEX, GCI, TWC)

Korean

CAS LK 250: Introduction to Korean Literature

TR 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM Yang

What is Korean literature? How has it evolved through interaction with Chinese, Japanese, European and American literatures and cultures? What roles have regional and global changes played in shaping Korean imaginative writing? No prerequisites; readings and discussion in English. (AEX, GCI)

CAS LK 383: Modern Culture Through Korean Cinema (Meets with CI 365)

TR 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM Yang

Introduction to Korean Cinema from the early 20th century to the present. Discussion and essays on ethics of representation, colonialism, wars, state violence against citizens, psychological violence, sexual violence. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. (AEX, CRT, ETR)

Russian

CAS LR 250: Classics of Russian Prose
TR 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM Garcia De La Puente

Prose works that define the Russian literary tradition, including Pushkin’s Queen of Spades, Gogol’s Overcoat, Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons, Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. (AEX, GCI)

CAS LR 289: Russian Culture: Literature, Film, and Arts
TR 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM Garcia De La Puente

Introduction to the history of Russian culture from its beginnings to the 21st century. This course surveys main works of literature, painting, architecture, and film chronologically. It keeps relevant historical developments in sight, and investigates cause-effect links between history and culture. (AEX, CRT, HCO)

CAS LR 355: Chekhov: The Stories and Plays

TR 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM Corrigan

Explores Chekhov’s major plays and a wide selection from his prose (in English translation); studies the arc of his career, his aesthetic innovations, moral psychology, philosophical perspective. Includes practicum in which students produce a play composed of scenes from Chekhov. (AEX, PLM, TWC)

Arabic

CAS LY 283: Arab Cultures Through Film (Meets with CI 283)

TR 9:30 – 10:45 AM Slimane

Explores Arab cultures with a focus on key historical and social issues through the lens of Arabic films, both as historical artifacts and artworks. Diverse cinematic works from Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and beyond are discussed and analyzed. No prior knowledge of the Arab world or Arabic is required. (GCL, HCO, TWC)

CAS LY 284: War in Arab Literature and Film (Meets with XL 284)

TR 9:30 – 10:45 AM Litvin

Translation

CAS TL 500: History and Theory of Translation

W 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM Litvin

The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the history of translation and the main trends in Translation Studies. Students learn to apply concepts acquired in class to analyze and critique translations and develop their own strategies. (AEX, CRT, HCO)

CAS TL 505: Literary Style Workshop

M 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM Tyler

Undergraduate Prerequisites: Admission to the MA program in translation or permission of instructor. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 100 or WR 120). – Workshop cultivating awareness of and sensitivity to style, cohesiveness, and patterning in literary English. Topics range from text-type to subtle effects of rhythm and sound. Imitation practice. Emphasis on translators’ process, from strategic decisions to editing. Workshop format. (CRI, CRT, WIN)