Intro to Global Literature

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The purpose of "Introduction to Global Literature" is twofold: to make students familiar with different methodologies that can be adopted to analyze literary texts, and to examine what it means to compare literary texts from different cultural traditions. Through representative essays, the course will offer a systematic exploration of the major theoretical approaches to literature, from structuralism and post-structuralism through psychoanalysis, Marxism, feminism, post-colonialism, and cultural, race, and sexuality studies. A selection of literary works belonging to a variety of national, cultural, and linguistic traditions will also allow us to apply and test literary theory in a comparative perspective. As a writing-intensive course "Introduction to Global Literature" also aims at helping students develop skills in the domain of academic writing. Meetings will be a combination of lecture and seminar format, depending on the topic and the purpose of each class.