The novel has been described as the quintessential literary form of modernity, but do we know what a novel actually is? And is it just a modern form? In this seminar we will look at a range of pathbreaking works that have bent the norms of prose fiction and have opened up new ways of understanding the world, from antiquity to the present. Readings will include selections from The Odyssey, The Tale of Genji, and Don Quixote, together with a range of modern novels, informed by several important statements on the novel, especially by the writers themselves.
The novel has been described as the quintessential literary form of modernity, but do we know what a novel actually is? And is it just a modern form? In this seminar we will look at a range of pathbreaking works that have bent the norms of prose fiction and have opened up new ways of understanding the world, from antiquity to the present. Readings will include selections from The Odyssey, The Tale of Genji, and Don Quixote, together with a range of modern novels, informed by several important statements on the novel, especially by the writers themselves.
This course examines a diverse range of creative and critical discourses on migration, diaspora, and trauma: African; East, South, and Southeast Asian (Chinese, Indian, Korean, Vietnamese); as well as Latin American and Caribbean. We focus on connections among diasporas, displacement, migration, and trauma, and on the relationships of these phenomena and constructions and understandings of artistic and cultural identities, ethnicity/race, gender/sexuality, inequality, disease/mental illness/mental health/disability, religion, postcolonialism, transculturation (including translation), multilingualism, globalization and global history, world literature, global literatures, and related fields.
It has been argued that the poetic “I” in premodern literatures is not a vehicle for self-representation, but an archetype of the human. The course will examine this thesis against the rise of autobiographical writing in medieval and early modern Europe. Readings include spiritual autobiographies (Augustine, Kempe, Teresa of Ávila), letter collections (Abelard and Heloise), Arabic and Hebrew maqama literature, Provençal troubadour lyric, Hispano-Jewish poetry (Samuel ha-Nagid, Judah Halevi, Solomon ibn Gabirol), prison poetry (Jacopone da Todi, al-Mutamid of Seville, François Villon), pilgrimage narratives, travel literature, Petrach, Dante (Vita nuova and selections of the Commedia), Ibn Ḥazm of Córdoba, Latin American chronicles, and the picaresque novel (Lazarillo de Tormes). Theoretical perspectives by Spitzer, Lejeune, Zumthor, and DeCerteau.
Course note: This course counts for the Romance Studies track in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.
One of the towering literary figures of the 20th century, Italo Calvino is remembered for his inventiveness, versatility, philosophical acuity, and interest in exploring combinatorial and computational approaches to creative practice. Using as its point of departure his 1967 lecture Cybernetics and Ghosts, the course is built around readings of some of Calvino’s most celebrated novels, among them: The Castle of Crossed Destinies, If on a winter’s night a traveler, and Invisible Cities. But we will also read from his Six Memos for the Next Millennium and critical writings, from writings by figures in contemporary cybernetics and communication theory, and from the Italian structuralist tradition, Oulipo, and the Programmed Art movement of the 1970s. Class assignments will involve the speculative, creative, and critical use of Generative AI tools and the generation of plausible “new” works by Calvino forty years after his death.
We read a range of historically important works of literature from around the world—twice! We read everything carefully in more than one translation to learn the art of rereading, as well as how to enjoy and critique translations, not just read “through” them. We also learn about the structure of a range of languages, and think about how those languages shape their literatures. This is a great class to take if you’re thinking about learning a new language in the future. It’s also a good entryway to other literature and language classes for first- and second-year students, as well as for students concentrating in fields outside the humanities. Through a sequence of assignments in analyzing what translations do, we hone your writing for clarity, economy, and logic. This course also counts toward the Secondary Field in Translation Studies. Taught in English; no other languages required (just curiosity).
An introduction to the discipline of comparative literature, looking at major issues in the history and current practice of the discipline as practiced in the USA, with special emphasis on seeing how comparatists enter into ongoing debates concerning theory and method. Several of our faculty will join us for the discussion of their work. Additional readings will include selections from Herder, de Staël, Adorno, Auerbach, de Man, Glissant, Said, Spivak, Apter, Venuti, and Heise.
Founded as a graduate program in 1904 and joining with the undergraduate Literature Concentration in 2007, Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature operates at the crossroads of multilingualism, literary study, and media history.
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