Lower Division Courses
COM 1. MAJOR BOOKS OF WESTERN CULTURE: THE ANCIENT WORLD (4 Units)
STAFF (Sec. 1, TR 10:00-11:50, 205 Wellman) CRN 67517
STAFF (Sec. 2, MW 12:10-2:00, 101 Wellman) CRN 67518
STAFF (Sec. 3, TR 2:10-4:00, 101 Wellman) CRN 67519
Course Description: An introduction, through class discussion and frequent written assignments, to some of the great books of western civilization from The Epic of Gilgamesh to St. Augustine's The Confessions. This course may be counted toward satisfaction of the English Composition Requirement in all three undergraduate colleges. Limited to 25 students per section; pre-enrollment is strongly advised. Emphasis is on classroom discussion of the readings, supplemented by occasional lectures. Students write papers and take a final examination.
Prerequisite: Completion of Entry-Level Writing (formerly Subject A) Requirement.
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum and Wrt
GE Credits (New): ArtHum, Wrt, and World Cultures
(Note: This course cannot be used to satisfy a college or university composition requirement and GE writing experience simultaneously).
Readings (vary from section to section):
The New Oxford Annotated Bible; Homer, The Odyssey; Virgil, The Aeneid; Plato, The Symposium; The Epic of Gilgamesh;
St. Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions; Sophocles, Antigone; Salvatore Alloso, A Short Handbook for Writing Essays about Literature.
COM 2. MAJOR BOOKS OF WESTERN CULTURE: From THE MIDDLES AGES to THE ENLIGHTENMENT (4 Units)
STAFF (Sec. 1, MW 12:10-2:00, 159 Olson) CRN 67520
STAFF (Sec. 2, MW 2:10-4:00, 159 Olson) CRN 67521
STAFF (Sec. 3, TR 2:10-4:00, 129 Wellman) CRN 67522
Course Description: An introduction to some major works from the medieval period to the "Enlightenment"; close readings and discussion, supplemented with short lectures to provide cultural and generic contexts. May be counted toward satisfaction of the English Composition requirement in all three undergraduate colleges. Limited to 25 students per section; pre-enrollment is strongly advised. Emphasis is on classroom discussion of the readings, supplemented by occasional lectures. Students write short papers and take a final examination.
Prerequisite: Completion of Entry-Level Writing (formerly Subject A) Requirement.
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum and Wrt
GE Credits (New): ArtHum, Wrt, and World Cultures
(Note: This course cannot be used to satisfy a college or university composition requirement and GE writing experience simultaneously).
Readings (vary from section to section):
Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote; Rene Descartes, Discourse on Method; William Shakespeare, Othello; Dante, The Inferno of Dante;
Beowulf; Salvatore Alloso, A Short Handbook for Writing Essays about Literature.
COM 3. MAJOR BOOKS OF WESTERN CULTURE: THE MODERN CRISIS (4 Units)
STAFF (Sec. 1, TR 10:00-11:50, 211 Wellman) CRN 67523
STAFF (Sec. 2, TR 12:10-2:00, 211 Wellman) CRN 67524
STAFF (Sec. 3, MW 10:00-11:50, 217 Olson) CRN 67525
STAFF (Sec. 4, MW 12:10-2:00, 217 Olson) CRN 93540
Course Description: An introduction, through class discussion and the writing of short papers, to some of the great books of the modern age, from Goethe's Faust to Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Limited to 25 students per section; pre-enrollment is strongly advised. Emphasis is on classroom discussion of the readings, supplemented by occasional lectures. Students write short papers and take a final examination.
Prerequisite: Completion of Entry-Level Writing (formerly Subject A) Requirement.
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum and Wrt
GE Credits (New): ArtHum, Wrt, and World Cultures
(Note: This course cannot be used to satisfy a college or university composition requirement and GE writing experience simultaneously).
Readings:
- Required: J.W. von Goethe, Faust (Part One); Sigmund Freud, Civilization and its Discontents; Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment
- Vary from section to section: Franz Kafka, The Trial; Beckett, Waiting for Godot; Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own
- Recommended: Salvatore Alloso, A Short Handbook for Writing Essays about Literature.
COM 4. MAJOR BOOKS OF THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD (4 Units)
STAFF (Sec. 1, MW 10:00-11:50, 107 Wellman) CRN 67526
STAFF (Sec. 2, MW 2:10-4:00, 101 Olson) CRN 67527
STAFF (Sec. 3, TR 12:10-2:00, 107 Wellman) CRN 67528
Course Description: Comparative study of selected major Western and non-Western texts composed in the period from 1945 to the present. Limited to 25 students per section; pre-enrollment is strongly advised. Emphasis is on classroom discussion of the readings, supplemented by occasional lectures. Students write short papers and take a final examination.
Prerequisite: Completion of Entry-Level Writing (formerly Subject A) Requirement.
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum, Div, and Wrt
GE Credits (New): ArtHum, Wrt, Visual Literacy, and World Cultures
(Note: This course cannot be used to satisfy a college or university composition requirement and GE writing experience simultaneously).
Readings (vary from section to section):
Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; Jhumpa Lahari, The Namesake; J.M. Coetzee, Foe: A Novel;
Elfriede Jelinek, Women As Lovers; Tayeb Salih, Season of Migration to the North.
COM 6. MYTHS AND LEGENDS (4 Units)
Prof. Archana Venkatesan, avenkatesan@ucdavis.edu
Lecture: MWF 1:10-2:00, 1322 Storer
Discussion Sections:
Sec. 1 (W 4:10-5:00, 141 Olson) CRN 67529
Sec. 2 (W 5:10-6:00, 141 Olson) CRN 67530
Sec. 3 (R 4:10-5:00, 151 Olson) CRN 67531
Sec. 4 (R 5:10-6:00, 227 Olson) CRN 67532
Sec. 5 (F 9:00-9:50, 1020 Wickson) CRN 67533
Sec. 6 (F 10:00-10:50, 1020 Wickson) CRN 67534
Course Description: This course is an introductory, comparative study of heroic epics and creation mythology from a variety of societies, with attention both to the cultural specificity of each work and to the generic and other features they have in common.
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum, Div, and Wrt.
GE Credits (New): ArtHum, Wrt, and World Cultures.
Readings (Tentative):
- Alan Dundes (ed.), Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Myth (Univ. of California Press, 1984)
- A Course Reader
COM 7. LITERATURE OF FANTASY AND THE SUPERNATURAL (4 Units)
Prof. Neil Larsen, nalarsen@ucdavis.edu
Lecture: TR 4:40-6:00, 1322 Storer
Discussion Sections:
Sec. 1 (W 12:10-1:00, 207 Wellman) CRN 67535 NEW DAY/TIME/ROOM
Sec. 2 (M 4:10-5:00, 101 Olson) CRN 67536
Sec. 3 (M 5:10-6:00, 101 Olson) CRN 67537
Sec. 4 (W 2:10-3:00, 116 Veihmeyer) CRN 67538 NEW DAY/TIME/ROOM
Sec. 5 (F 10:00-10:50, 1020 Wickson) CRN 67539
Sec. 6 (F 11:00-11:50, 1006 Giedt) CRN 67540
Course Description: The literature of fantasy and the supernatural, although often transporting the reader into another world or a distant past, is a product of modern, urban society. In its Western variations, it dates from not much earlier than the 19th century. The urge for fantasy assumes the existence of a dominant literary realism, and the taste for the supernatural rests on the broad, secular disbelief in its existence. This course will explore this historical and cultural dynamic through a variety of literary texts and films, including works by E.T.A. Hoffmann; Sigmund Freud; Edgar Allen Poe; Lewis Carroll; Henry James; Franz Kafka; Jorge Luis Borges; and Ryunosoke Akutagawa. Films to be viewed include F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu; Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast; and Hideo Nakata's Ringu. Comparative Literature 7 is an Introductory General Education course in Civilization and Culture.
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum, Div, and Wrt.
GE Credits (New): ArtHum, Wrt, and World Cultures.
Readings:
- Henry James, Turn of the Screw and Other Short Fiction
- Edgar Allan Poe, The Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe
- Carroll Lewis, Alice's Adventure in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass
COM 10G. MASTER AUTHORS IN WORLD LITERATURE (2 Units)
Victoria White, Instructor
Lecture/Discussion Sections:
Sec. 1 (M 12:10-2:00, 25 Wellman) CRN 94523
Sec. 2 (T 10:00-11:50, 107 Wellman) CRN 94524
Course Description: The class will focus on the theatre (especially the comedy) of Renaissance and Early Modern Italy, Spain, England, and France. Class meetings will be discussion based, with some lecture. We will read seven plays in ten weeks, with occassional film screenings.
Grading: Pass/No Pass (P/NP) only.
GE Credits (Old): None
GE Credit (New): None
Readings:
- Machiavelli, La Mandragola
- Lope de Vega, Three Major Plays
- Lope de Vega, The Dog in the Manger
- William Shakespeare, Henry IV: Part I
- William Shakespeare, As You Like It
- Moliere, The School for Wives and The Learned Ladies
COM 20. HUMANS AND THE NATURAL WORLD (4 Units)
Prof. Scott McLean, wsmclean@ucdavis.edu
(TR 3:10-4:30, 267 Olson) CRN 67543
Course Description: This course acquaints students with changing concepts of the human relationship to the natural environment -- whether cultivated nature or wild nature -- as reflected in literary works from around the world. There will be reading, discussion, and writing about these works, probing questions about what "nature" is and how humans have historically related to land, animals, and other living phenomena. An emphasis will be placed on differences between cultures, religions, and historical periods.
Prerequisite: None
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum and Wrt.
GE Credit (New): ArtHum, Wrt, and World Cultures
Readings:
- Alejo Carpentier, The Lost Steps
- John Muir, Nature Writings (Library of America)
- Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (Library of America)
- Colin Turnbull, The Forest People
- Theodora Kroeber, Ishi in Two Worlds, 50th Anniversary Edition: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America
COM 25. ETHNIC MINORITY WRITERS IN WORLD LITERATURE (4 Units)
Prof. Noha Radwan, nmradwan@ucdavis.edu
Lecture: MWF 12:10-1:00, 147 Olson
Discussion Sections:
Sec. 1 (W 4:10-5:00, 105 Olson) CRN 93543
Sec. 2 (W 5:10-6:00, 105 Olson) CRN 93544
Course Description: What is ethnic writing? Who is an ethnic writer? Is there an ethnic reader? Ethnic reading? What is the other of "ethnic writing?" White writing? What does an ethnic reading of white writing look like? How about a white reading of ethnic writing? Why is the term "ethnic" relevant at all? These issues and more are what we will explore through the reading of a diverse selection of writings: fiction, poetry and memoirs by authors from the United States and other parts of the world including Albert Camus, Franz Kafka, Samuel Selvon, Richard Wright, Leslie Marmon Silko and Julia Alvarez.
Prerequisite: Completion of Entry-Level Writing (formerly Subject A) Requirement.
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum, Div, and Wrt.
GE Credit (New): ArtHum, Wrt, and World Cultures.
Readings:
- A Course Reader
Upper Division Courses
COM 141. INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO LITERATURE AND CULTURE
Prof. Neil Larsen, nalarsen@ucdavis.edu
(TR 12:10-1:30, 127 Wellman) CRN 93546
Course Description: This course introduces students to the basic concepts and methods of critical and literary theory. Drawing on Eagleton's Literary Theory: an Introduction, selections from primary works by theorists from Marx and Freud to Benjamin and Foucault, and taking up the contributions of areas such as feminist and film theory, the class will explore the theoretical ramifications of a small group of literary and cultural texts, including Shakespeare’s King Lear; Morrison’s Beloved; and a classic film, Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Students will be asked to write a series of guided essays, culminating in a final project of theoretical analysis centered on pre-determined text.
Note: This is a required course for Comparative Literature major.
Prerequisite: One upper-division literature course or Consent of Instructor.
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum and Wrt.
GE Credit (New): ArtHum, Wrt, and World Cultures.
Readings:
- Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory
- William Shakespeare, King Lear
- Toni Morrison, Beloved
COM 156. THE RAMAYANA (4 Units)
Prof. Archana Venkatesan, avenkatesan@ucdavis.edu
(MWF 10:00-10:50, 108 Hoagland) CRN 93547
Course Description: This course explores the diversity of the Ramayana tradition through the lens of literature, visual culture, and performance. Students will read substantial portions of three versions of the epic (Sanskrit, Tamil and Hindi) in translation. Students will be exposed to the rendering of the narrative in visual form, with a focus on sculptural representations from South and Southeast Asia. Students will study the contemporary relevance of the epic, especially in diaspora communities, by examining the performance traditions associated with the Ramayana. These include T.V serialization of the epic, alternate Ramayanas, and modern-day stage adaptations of the epic.
Prerequisite: None
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum and Wrt.
GE Credit (New): ArtHum, Wrt, and World Cultures.
Readings:
- (TBA)
COM 180. TOPIC: "POETRY AND ROCK-&-ROLL" (4 Units)
Prof. Scott McLean, wsmclean@ucdavis.edu
(TR 4:40-6:00, 261 Olson) CRN 67552
Course Description: (An expanded description is not available at the moment. Check back later or contact the instructor directly.)
Note: This course can be repeated once for credit if the topic differs.
Prerequisite: Completion of Entry-Level Writing (formerly Subject A) Requirement and at least one literature course.
GE Credits (Old): ArtHum and Wrt.
GE Credit (New): ArtHum, Wrt, and World Cultures.
Readings:
- (TBA)
COM 195. TOPIC: "THEORY OF MYTH" (4 Units)
Prof. Kari Lokke, kelokke@ucdavis.edu
(M 12:10-3:00, 144 Olson) CRN 67564
Course Description: (An expanded description is not available at the moment. Check back later or contact the instructor directly.)
Note: This is a required course for Comparative Literature major.
Prerequisite: Senior standing as a Comparative Literature major or minor or consent of instructor
GE Credits (Old): None
GE Credit (New): ArtHum and Wrt.
Readings:
- Thomas Mann and Clayton Koelb (ed.), Death in Venice: A Norton Critical Edition (Norton, 1994)
- R. Lattimore and D. Greene (eds.), Euripides V: Electra, The Phoenican Women, The Bacchae, The Complete Greek Tragedy (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1969)
- Wole Soyinka, The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite, 2nd edition (Norton, 2004)
- Friedrich Nietzsche and Walter Kaufman (trans.), The Birth of Tragedy and The Case of Wagner (Vintage Books, 1967)
- Tennessee Williams, Suddenly Last Summer (Dramatists Play Service, 1998)
- Sigmund Freud, Totem and Taboo (Norton, 1990)
- Roland Barthes, Mythologies (Hill and Wang)
- A Course Reader
Graduate Courses
COM 210. SEMINAR TOPIC: "THE MYTH OF DIONYSUS AND THE DIONYSIAC" (4 Units)
Prof. Kari Lokke, kelokke@ucdavis.edu
Prof. Seth Schein, slschein@ucdavis.edu
(T 1:10-4:00, 822 Sproul) 6758827535
Course Description:We will study representations of, and ideas about, the Dionysiac in literature and philosophy from Euripides to the present. Readings include:
Poetry
Ovid, Metamorphoses, selections from Book 3
S.T. Coleridge, "Kubla Khan"
F. Hölderlin. "Brot und Wein"
P.B. Shelley, "Adonais"
Drama
Euripides, The Bacchae
W. Soyinka, The Bacchae of Euripides: a communion rite
T. Williams, Suddenly Last Summer
Fiction
T. Mann, Death in Venice
I. Dinesen, The Cardinal's First Tale
Philosophy/Theory
Plato, Phaedrus (selection)
F.Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy
E. Cassirer, Language and Myth
S. Freud, Totem and Taboo
R. Girard, Violence and the Sacred (selections)
M. Horkheimer and T. Adorno, Dialectic of Enlightenment (selections)
N.O. Brown, "Apocalypse"
L. Irigaray, The Marine Lover of Friedrich Nietzsche
Selected articles will include work by Claudia Baracchi, Walter Burkert, E.R. Dodds, Barbara Goff, Andre von Gronicka, Albert Henrichs, Richard Seaford, Renate Schlesier, Jean-Pierre Vernant, and others.
Readings:
- Thomas Mann and Clayton Koelb (ed.), Death in Venice: A Norton Critical Edition (Norton, 1994)
- R. Lattimore and D. Greene (eds.), Euripides V: Electra, The Phoenican Women, The Bacchae, The Complete Greek Tragedy (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1969)
- Wole Soyinka, The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite, 2nd edition (Norton, 2004)
- Friedrich Nietzsche and Walter Kaufman (trans.), The Birth of Tragedy and The Case of Wagner (Vintage Books, 1967)
- Tennessee Williams, Suddenly Last Summer (Dramatists Play Service, 1998)
- Sigmund Freud, Totem and Taboo (Norton, 1990)
- M. Horkheimer and T.W. Adorno, Dialectic of Enlightenment (Stanford Univ. Press, 2007)
- A Course Reader, containing the poetry we will be reading, a few brief samples of alternative translations of passages from some works, and selected scholarly articles.
COM 396. TEACHING ASSISTANT TRAINING PRACTICUM (Variable Units)
Prof. Noha Radwan (Sec. --, CRN ***)
Prof. Archana Venkatesan (Sec. --, CRN ***)
Prof. Neil Larsen, Professor (Sec. --, CRN ***)
(Note: Contact Falicia Savala, fsavala@ucdavis.edu, for the CRNs.)