Course Description: To explore key literary, cultural and critical theories, we pose questions through readings of classic and contemporary theorists, from Aristotle to Kant, Schiller, Arendt, Barthes, Foucault, Glissant, Ortiz, Kittler, S. Hartman, and Haraway, among others. Their approaches include aesthetics, (post)structuralism, postcolonialism, media theory, gender theory, ecocriticism. Each seminar addresses a core reading and a cluster of variations. Weekly writing assignments will formulate a question that addresses the core texts to prepare for in-class discussions and interpretive activities.
Notes: Conducted in English. This course is offered as Romance Studies 201 and German 291. Credit may be earned for Romance Studies 201 or German 291, but not both. The course is cross-listed with Comparative Literature and AAAS.
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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