Course info

This course is designed to introduce students to the history and evolution of world literature studies through essays and articles, and to engage them in contemporary debates within and around the discipline of comparative literature. The close readings of a selection of literary texts will expose students to a range of renowned authors, playwrights and poets from around the world and make students aware of the different cultural, historical and socio-economic contexts. The course will moreover explore issues related to the processes of canonization; nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and the planetary; key issues of translation; and the relevance of adaptation as a result of inter-cultural circulation, while also reflecting on the characteristics that make certain texts globally relevant.