Episodes in Literary Cultures: Literature and Society

4 credits · Undergraduate

An introductory level exploration of the study of social and cultural issues in relation to literature. Examining some of the conceptual and thematic places where literature and social sciences topics (race, gender, social and class structure, law) cross over into each others' domains, we will ask what it means to read literary texts along with social sciences methodologies. The focus will be on reading of fiction and alongside methodological texts of the social sciences (linguistics, sociology, law, anthropology, social and cultural theories of gender and ethnicity). Readings and topics to vary from semester to semester.