World Lit: Premodern

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course offers an introduction to the rich and diverse literary traditions of the premodern world during a thousand-year span of time, from about 500 to 1500 C.E. Beginning in China and making our way to Japan, India, Persia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, we will read selections from works such as The Ballad of Mulan, The Tale of Genji, the Thousand and One Nights, the Shahnameh, the Kebra Nagast, the Divine Comedy, the Lais of Marie de France, and The Canterbury Tales. We will also consider the ways that contemporary filmmakers, writers, and artists continue to find inspiration in these tales from the distant past, adapting them for new contexts, new audiences, and new times. All readings are in English translation.