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Comparative
Literature
The Comparative Literature major is an interdepartmental course of
study allowing students with sufficient literary background and linguistic
preparation to pursue the comparative study of literature, literary
theory, literary criticism, and cultural studies across boundaries
of genre, historical period, language, and culture. The major draws
on the current offerings of relevant departments and from the courses
in the Comparative Literature Program. In addition to the specific
requirements below, the student may work out an emphasis within the
major in consultation with his or her advisor and the program director.
Thus several courses presented for the major might focus on a specific
period (the Renaissance, the twentieth century), a genre (tragedy,
lyric poetry), or an approach (translation, critical theory).
Major. A minimum of 30 credit hours (33 for Honors)
to be distributed as follows:
Comparative Literature 200, three hours
At least one course at the 400 level in a foreign literature taught
in the original language (300 in Greek or Latin), three hours
A comparative reading course the senior year to be supervised jointly
by faculty members from two appropriate departments, three hours.
(Honors for six hours may substitute for this requirement.)
Twenty-one hours of literature, theory, criticism, and cultural studies,
chosen to include comparative study within or between courses. (Some
courses are inherently comparative. For other courses chosen, students
can seek ways to inject comparative study, as in selecting paper topics.
Up to six hours of appropriate courses in history and theory of art,
music, film, theater, and dance and non-literary theory courses on
gender, race, and class may be counted.)
At least 18 of the hours counted toward the major must be earned at
Oberlin College. Students preparing for graduate work in comparative
literature should select at least fifteen hours in two foreign literatures
taught in the original languages.
Honors. Students who wish to pursue honors should apply by
April 15 of the junior year. Admission will be granted on the basis
of the grade-point average in the major, faculty recommendations,
and a written proposal. The project will be for six hours during the
two semesters of the senior year, normally under the supervision of
two faculty members from different departments. Interested majors
should consult the director.
The following courses, either cross-referenced, cross-listed or wholly
in Comparative Literature, are centered on comparative approaches
and therefore are of special interest to majors. For cross-listed
courses, students may enroll using either the Comparative Literature
number or the cross-listed number in the department of origin.
200. Methods of Comparative Literature 3 hours
3HU, CD
First
Semester. This course investigates the nature and scope of comparative
literary studies, focusing on the nature and assumptions of literary
study undertaken from several comparative perspectives. The importance
of translation, the role of theory and criticism, the opportunities
and limitations of influence studies, the place of cultural studies,
and other comparative topics are explored. A variety of texts from
different literary traditions will be analyzed from different theoretical
approaches. Prerequisites: An introductory literature course in any
language. Note: For Comparative Literature majors this course must
be taken by the junior year.
Ms. LaPiana
231. Don Juan: Transformations of a Legend 3 hours
3HU, WR
First
Semester. Identical to ENGL 231.
Mr. Pierce
265. Anglophone Literatures of the Third World 3
hours
3HU, WR
Second
Semester. Identical to ENGL 265.
Ms. Needham
350. Translation
Workshop 3 hours
3 HU, CD
First
Semester. Identical to CRWR 350.
Mr. Young
457. Caribbean Cultures and Literatures 3 hours
3 HU, CD
Second
Semester. Identical to SPAN 457.
Ms. Cara
501, 502. Honors Project 3 hours
3HU
First
and Second Semester. Consent of Program Director required.
Staff
Cross-Referenced Courses
The following courses may be of particular interest to Comparative
Literature students, depending on the emphasis of their major. The
courses listed below are offered in English, unless otherwise noted.
Numerous other courses are also appropriate for the major. Please
consult the listings of literature courses in the following departments
or programs: Classics (courses in Latin and Greek above 301), East
Asian Studies (courses in Chinese and Japanese at the 300 and 400
level), French (360 or above), English (200 level or above), German
(300 and 400 level), Hispanic Studies (305 or above), Russian (300
and 400 level).
Classics
101 Myth and Hero in the Greek Epic
206 Greek and Roman Drama in Translation
218 No Second Troy: Versions of Helen
Chinese
106 Topics in Chinese Literature
109 Topics in Chinese Film
English
264 Coming
to America
282 Shifting Scenes
349 Contemporary Drama
French
250 A
Century of Dreams in French Cinema
360 Colloquium: Littérature et musique (conducted in French)
416 Littérature, art et révolution au XIXe siècle
(conducted in French)
441 Atelier de traduction (Translation Workshop, conducted in
French)
473 Sex in Contemporary French Cinema
478 The Algerian Camus
German
326 Twentieth-Century
German Drama
Hispanic Studies
313 Colloquium:
Latin American Film
320 Reading Borges (conducted in Spanish)
423 The Crisis of 1898 and the Discourse of Decadence (conducted
in Spanish)
450 Picaresque Narratives: the World Vision of Female and Male
pícaros (conducted in Spanish)
465 ¡Viva la raza! Constructions of Hispanic Identity (conducted
in Spanish)
Japanese
116 Traditional
Japanese Literature in Translation
118 Modern Japanese Literature in Translation
Russian
322 Russian
Decadence in Its Western Context
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