Summer 2020 Expanded Course Descriptions

Comparative Literature Expanded Course Descriptions Summer 2020

 

SUMMER SESSION 1:  COMPARATIVE LITERATURE 004:  Major Works of the Contemporary World: China Stories
Associate Instructor Xuesong Shao

 

What do we learn from reading literature by authors who are culturally distant from us? And how has literature from elsewhere been used by authors to enhance critical awareness of their own world(s)? In this course, we will think about these questions by exploring a variety of “China stories,” including Asian American autobiographical writing, Chinese dystopian stories, Disney classics and world-renowned arthouse films. Much of our discussion will focus on concepts related to storytelling, literary imagination, and cultural exchange.

Because this course satisfies the lower division writing requirement, importance is placed on the conventions of academic writing and on recognizing the ability of academic writing to improve our ability to think critically.

Prerequisite: Completion of Entry-Level Writing (formerly Subject A) Requirement.

General Credit(s): Arts and Humanities, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Selected Readings/Films:

  • Mulan (1998)
  • In the Mood for Love (dir. Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
  • The Woman Warrior. Maxine Hong Kingston (Vintage Books, 1989)
  • Fat Years. CHAN Koonchung, translated by Michael S. Duke (Anchor Press, 2013)

 

SUMMER SESSION 2: COMPARATIVE LITERATURE 002:  Major Works of the Medieval and Early Modern World: How to Get from Hell to Utopia
Associate Instructor Kyle Proehl
 

"Abandon all hope"

In this course we will spend some time with literary works that trace the long decline of feudalism, a medieval social system based on the ownership of land and supported by religion. We will also have a look at some films that reflect a contemporary understanding of the process. One of the questions we’ll be asking is how social and political change affects culture. Another question is how secularization transforms religious thought and practice without abolishing the need that gave rise to it in the first place. We will consider the relation between progress and decline – how to tell the difference, where to find evidence in culture, why the question is urgent today.

Because this course satisfies the lower division writing requirement, importance is placed on the conventions of academic writing and on recognizing the ability of academic writing to improve our ability to think critically.
 

Prerequisite: Completion of Entry-Level Writing (formerly Subject A) Requirement.

General Credit(s): Arts and Humanities, World Cultures and Writing Experience.

Textbooks: Possible authors/artists include Dante, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Kurosawa

 

 

 

 

 

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