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Spring 2008 Schedule of Classes: Undergraduate

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Download a PDF of the Fall 2008 Schedule of Courses.

121 – International Short Story

(AL)
Lec. 1 MWF 10:10-11:00
Lec. 2 MWF 9:05-9:55
Lec. 3 MWF 1:25-2:15

Lecture, discussion. Reading and analysis of a variety of short stories from the Russian, Czech, German, French, Italian, Spanish, English, American, and Latin American traditions from the early 19th century to the present. We will analyze fantastic tales, character sketches, surprise endings; main types of the short story as a special genre marked by compassion and intensity of effect. All works read in translation. Course requirements to be announced.

122 – Spiritual Autobiography

(ALG)
Lec. 1 MWF 115-12:05

Lecture, discussion. Spiritual Autobiography is writing about the self or selves in confrontation with the unknown, during times of personal or social crisis, loss, and rebirth. (Spiritual in this sense does not necessarily refer to institutionalized religion - in fact, a spiritual crisis may happen through the failure of religion). We will read autobiographies from several traditions and many time periods – medieval Christianity, 11th century Japan, 20th century Black America, the slums of Modern Brazil, China just before WW II, etc. Some possible readings: The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, The Book of Margery Kempe, The Education of Henry Adams, Black Elk Speaks, Carlo Levi's Christ Stopped at Eboli, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Daughter of Han, Chogyan Trungpa's Born in Tibet, Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book, and others. Requirements: 4 short autobiographical papers, 2 pages each. Midterm in class, take-home final. No prerequisites. Heavy Readings.

141 – Good & Evil: East-West

(ALG)
Lec. 1 TuTh 2:30-3:45 - RAP students only in Field l04
Lec. 2 MWF 11:15-12:05
Lec. 3 MWF 10:10-11:00
Lec. 4 MWF 10:10-11:00
Lec. 5 MWF 11:15-12:05

An introduction to the imaginative presentation of good and evil in Western and Eastern classics, folktales, children's stories, and 20th century literature. Cross-cultural comparison of ethical approaches to moral problems such as the suffering of the innocent, the existence of evil, the development of a moral consciousness and social responsibility, and the role of faith in a broken world.

141H – Good & Evil: East-West

(ALG)
Lec. 1 MWF 1:25-2:15

Theme: “Intersections between Literature and Dance”
Our knowledge of nearly every ancient culture shows a rich, symbiotic relationship between the arts of literature, dance, and music. In this honors section of CMLT 141, “Literature and Dance,” we will explore this peculiar and fascinating love affair, considering the intersection of literature and dance from ancient times until contemporary productions and literature, but focusing upon ancient Greece and India and 19th-20th century dance in Europe and America .
Readings will include: Oedipus Tyrannus and Antigone (Sophocles), Agamemnon (Aeschylus), Othello (Shakespeare), Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Stowe); selections from classical Indian poets; the poetry of Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Mallarmé, Rilke; lyrics to tango and flamenco music; theoretical writings.

151 – Fictions East & West

(ALG) Prof. Balce, office 409 Herter Hall
Lec. 1: TuTh 11:15-12:05 - Prof. Balce
Dis. 1: F 10:10-11:00
Dis. 2: F 11:15-12:05
Dis. 3: F 10:10-11:00
Dis. 4: F 11:15-12:05

Lecture. An introduction to the literary and filmic encounters between Asian culture and the West in 20th century narratives – in particular fiction, essays, feature films and documentaries. The representation of the "West" by North American writers of Asian descent, juxtaposed to images of the "East" in modern novels, short fiction and films by European or Anglo American writers. Themes for our discussion include but are not limited to: gendered imperialism and Orientalism; legacies of war and colonialism; memory and trauma; gender roles (masculinity and femininity); the privileges of “whiteness”; migration and acculturation; racism and violence; family and nation. Readings (tentative): A Massachusetts Woman in the Philippines by Helen Wilson; selections from “Smoked Yankees” and the Struggle for Empire: Letters from Negro Soldiers, 1898-1902 by Willard Gatewood; Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Stories by Edith Maud Eaton (Sui Sin Far); Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories by Hisaye Yamamoto; Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston; The Quiet American by Graham Greene; Catfish and Mandala by Andrew Pham; selections from Charlie Chan is Dead 2; Dream Jungle by Jessica Hagedorn; Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee; American Son by Brian Ascalon Roley. Films (tentative): Broken Blossoms (D.W. Griffith, 1915); Picturing Oriental Girls: A (Re)educational Videotape (Valerie Soe, 1992); scenes from South Pacific (Rogers and Hammerstein, 1958); scenes from Flower Drum Song (Henry Koster, 1961); Bontoc Eulogy (Marlon Fuentes, 1995); Who Killed Vincent Chin? (Christine Choy and Renee Tajima, 1989); Days of Waiting: The Life and Art of Estelle Ishigo (Steven Okazaki, 1989); Regret to Inform (Barbara Sonneborn, 1998); Knowing Her Place (Indu Krishnan, 1990); Better Luck Tomorrow (Justin Lin, 2002); Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (Danny Leiner, 2004). Requirements: 2 papers (5 pages each), weekly quizzes, mid-term, team-discussion, oral report.

233 – Fantasy and World Literature

(AL) Prof. Tymoczko, office 411 Herter Hall
Lec. 1: MW 1:25-2:15 - Prof. Tymoczko
Dis. 1: F 10:10-11:00
Dis. 2: F 10:10-11:00
Dis. 3: F 10:10-11:00
Dis. 4: F 11:15-12:05
Dis. 5: F 11:15-12:05
Dis. 6: F 11:15-12:05

Lecture, discussion. Whether reality becomes boring or confining, terrifying or absurd, confusing of muddled, our fantasies often take the form of escape into strange realms where time and space are not our own. The journey into imaginary lands is a favorite theme of international literature, both traditional and modern. We will explore a series of fantastic voyages in literature and film to learn about human desires and dreams, as well as the reality they grow out of. An interdisciplinary approach will relate psychological theories of dreams and individual fantasies to the structure and effects of fantasy literature. Readings: Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring; Leguin, Left Hand of Darkness; Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Bram Stoker, Dracula; and Arabian Nights and others. Requirements: One ten-page paper, short papers, 3 quizzes, and class participation. n.

382 – Cinema and Psyche

(AT) Prof. Portuges, office 320 Herter Hall
Lec. 1: M 4:40-7:05 - Prof. Portuges
Dis. 1: Tu 2:30-3:45
Dis. 2: Tu 2:30-3:45
Dis. 3: Tu 1:00-2:15
Dis. 4: Tu 1:00-2:15

Lecture, Discussion. An exploration of the intersections between cinema and psychological interpretation, the course concerns the psychodynamics of reading visual texts produced in different cultures, languages, and national traditions. This semester's focus is on comparative representations of childhood, family, gender, and war in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the West. Among our considerations are the following: how do individual directors represent history and national identity? in what ways do spectators from different cultural milieux and historical moments understand those representations? what are the psychological consequences of encountering powerful images from cultures other than one's own? How do psychoanalytic perspectives enable us to 'read' the cinematic constructions of childhood experience, especially when portrayed in situations of trauma and wartime upheaval? Based on close reading of films, theoretical and critical essays, and interviews, our work aims to examine the often-unconscious resistances and 'mis-readings' that accompany the increasingly international world of cinema. Requirements: Attendance; a brief oral exercise; mid-term paper, final paper. .

383 – Narrative Avant-Garde Film

(AT) Prof. Levine, office 328 Herter Hall
Lec. M 3:35-7:00 - Prof. Levine
Dis. 1 Tu 2:30-3:45
Dis. 2 Tu 2:30-3:45
Dis. 3 Tu 4:00-5:15
Dis. 4 Tu 7:00-8:15

Lecture, discussion. Explores modern origin of experimentation in film in avant-garde modes such as Expressionism, Surrealism and contemporary results of this heritage to determine if film is the most resolutely modern of the media. Emphasis on the ways in which Avant-garde films can problematize themselves through the ploys of telling a story. By means of a self-consciousness of story-telling which undermines viewer identification, the drive for closure, the demand for origins and order, and even cause and effect, these avant-garde films restore to playfulness its strength and ambiguity. Requirements: one 5 page paper for midterm, final paper or project, attendance.

383H – Narrative Avant-Garde Film

(AT) Prof. Levine, office 328 Herter Hall
Lec. M 3:35-7:00 - Prof. Levine
Dis. 1 Tu 2:30-5:30

See above for general course description. Students in 383H may also register for COMP-LIT H01, a one-credit, optional, hands-on component. The purpose is to investigate aspects of film (such as shot formation, camera movement, editing approaches). Students will collaboratively explore a range of expressive possibilities on video. Working in groups of four, students will alternate roles of creator/writer, camera-person, editor, etc., in constructing brief scenes. No experience necessary.

391D – War Stories

Prof. Hicks, office 303 Herter Hall
TuTh 9:30-10:45

An inquiry into the representation of war in the late 20th century, this course will focus largely on a single armed conflict, the recent war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We will examine a variety of media: photography, cinema, theater, poetry, and narrative, as well as testimonials and documentaries. Our discussions will also respond to readings grounded in theory rather than context. Our focus throughout the semester will be relentlessly literary and critical: rather than ask questions such as “what happened” and “why?,” we will treat historical representation, even history itself, as a text, asking questions such as “who is speaking?,” “who is the audience”,” and “what are the rules for such discourse?”

391H– History of Literary Criticism

Prof. Petroff, office 413 Herter Hall
TuTh 9:30-10:45

A seminar on literary criticism east and west, from the classical period to the Renaissance in Europe, as well as in ancient China and the medieval Islamic world. Commonalities in all our texts: what constitutes art and beauty in verbal expression? What is the purpose of literature? Who may have access to literature? What are sacred and canonical texts, and how shall they be approached? What is the connection between literature and truth, literature and morality? What are the proper techniques for composing good literature? What is the function of the study of rhetoric? Requirements: come to every class having done the readings and prepared to discuss them. Lead several seminar discussions on particular texts. 2 papers. Texts: Winterbottom and Russell, Classical Literary Criticism; An Introduction to Arabic Poetics; Princeton Handbook to Multicultural Poetics; The Art of Writing, Teachings of the Chinese Masters. Xeroxes of selections from other texts: Geoffrey of Vinsauf, Averroes (Ibn Rushd), Dante, Boccaccio.

391J – Global Tempests

Prof. Hicks, office 303 Herter Hall
TuTh 1:00-2:15

An introduction to comparative approaches to literature: plays, films, poems, novels, manifestos, theory. Topics include the migration of Shakespeare's Tempest from Renaissance London to modern Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa; Pocahontas and the construction of American nationalism; Robinson Crusoe and cultural representation of modernity. Texts include: Shakespeare's The Tempest and Césaire's Tempest, Ngugi's "The Language of African Literature," Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Coetzee's Foe."

393E – Will Eisner and His Impact

Prof. Couch, office 325 Herter Hall
TuTh 1:00-2:15

This course will examine the work of the graphic novelist and comic creator Will Eisner, and his impact on sequential art and other works of literature in the U.S. and internationally. The course will include examination of his series Spirit, short stories, graphic novels including A Contract with God and A Family Matter, and the works of American, Latin American, Brazilian and European artists and writers influenced by Eisner, including Lethem, Eco, Mutarelli, Cantor and Gaiman.

393F – Polish Film

Prof. Bolibak, office Herter Hall
Th 4:00-6:30

This course is an introduction to classics of Polish cinema. We will watch films by Poland’s best-known film directors to explore their key aesthetic, historical and philosophical concerns. Among directors whose works we will view are Roman Polanski, Andrzej Wajda, Wojciech Has, Stanislaw Bareja, Kazimierz Kutz, Andrzej Munk, Krzysztof Zanussi, Agnieszka Holland and Krzysztof Kieslowski. Using the analytic language of literature, such as plot, character, setting, point of view, we will consider each film’s narrative content (story) as well as its formal features (its visual poetics). In our discussions of the films we will try to identify those qualities that give Polish cinematography its distinctiveness. We will also pay particular attention to the style of acting. Among the theoretical readings for the course will be writings by the avant-garde theater director Jerzy Grotowski, who had an enormous impact on Polish actors.

491M – Writing Memory: Autobiographies

Prof. Petroff, office 413 Herter Hall
TuTh 1:00-2:15

Lecture, discussion. This course will examine the process of writing memory for writers of the last few decades, the fragmentation of memory and of subjects, and the dialogue between various speakers within the works. For example, the story of “Comfort Woman” is told by a mother (forced to be a ‘comfort woman’ to Japanese soldiers during WWII) and her daughter (dealing with her mother’s many selves.) Amy Tan’s “One Hundred Secret Senses” begins with a split subject in America, and those two subjects split further when the characters move to China to explore the past. In Jeanette Winterson’s novels, the narrative is split between real and fantasy worlds, past and present figures, male and female gendered identities. Andrei Makine’s Dreams of My Russian Summers separates French and Russian, female and male memories, as Andrei retells his grandmother’s memories of her French life. We will read seven to nine novels/autobiographies and recent criticism on them, as well as doing some creative writing experimenting with their narrative strategies.

499D – Capstone Course

Prof. Levine, office 328 Herter Hall
Lec. M 3:35-7:00 - Prof. Levine
Dis. Tu 2:30-5:30 - Prof. Levine

Eligibility: Junior And Senior Honors Students Only
This 6-credit Capstone Course fulfills the Commonwealth college culminating- experience requirement. We apply ourselves to the problem of cinematic vision as both process and acquired skill. We learn to distinguish the ways in which Hollywood normative cinema has constructed a visual language which we accept, uncritically, as the look reality has when screened. In turn, this "look" is examined to see how it differs from what we may see with the “naked” eye, and how it informs what we, see (what we can see, what we look for) in the world. Recommended for students who have a keen interest in film. Students attend a large lecture and film screening (once a week), an intensive seminar-style section of 2-3 hours the next day, on Thursday a film-making component for 3 hours. There will be a take-home mid-term essay (six pages) and final essay (ten pages), a two page scene analysis, and an intensive final film project (20 minutes). Students investigate aspects of film-making (such as shot formation, camera movement, editing approaches) by collaboratively exploring a range of expressive -possibilities on video. Working in groups of three or four, students start off the semester alternating roles of writer/director, camera -person, editor, etc., in constructing brief scenes. No prior film experience necessary. This 6 credit course may qualify students for high Latin Honors, if they have fulfilled other specific requirements. See a Commonwealth College advisor for more information. Preference in registration given to seniors using this course toward their culminating experience requirement, others as space permits. Contact Commonwealth College 504 Goodell to register.

527 – Romanticisms: Poetry & Poetics

Prof. Lenson, office 427 Herter Hall
TuTh 1:00-2:15

“Romanticism” denotes an international Euro-American movement in literature and the other arts which arose at the end of the 18th Century. It was an assimilation by the arts of the new radical Individualism of French and German philosophy. Most so-called Romantic writers reject the notion that art mirrors reality. Instead, they believe that art is a synthetic power whose revelations attain universality through the genius of the individual creator.
Readings: Kant, Prolegomena and selection from The Critique of Judgment; Coleridge, selection from Biographia Literaria and selected poems; Wordsworth, Preface to the Lyrical Ballads and selected poems; Blake, selected poems; Shelley, “A Defense of Poetry” and selected poems; Keats, selected poems; Hugo, selected poems; Nerval, Chimères.
Requirements: 1) A twenty-minute class presentation; 2) A fifteen-page term essay.

COURSES OF INTEREST

Linguistics 397C – Linguistics and Literature

Prof. Rothstein
714 Herter Hall
MWF 11:15-12:05pm

How does a poem differ from a recipe for chocolate-chip cookies? Are ads a form of literature? What resources does a language provide to its speakers that enable them to create works of literature? These are among the topics that this course will address, using examples from English and a variety of other languages. Some prior coursework in linguistics is recommended but not a formal prerequisite.

 

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