Comparative Literature

The course is structured around the question of the formation of a so-called “Spanish literature” and its place in the republic of letters. In an exercise of situated criticism, from the Southern Cone, a panoramic and transversal view of Spanish literature is offered from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, with a special emphasis, on the one hand, on the topics that predominate in the self- and hetero-characterizations of what is recognized as “Spanish literature” and, on the other hand, in those texts that have been a milestone both in the peninsular literary scene and in the Hispanic cultures on the other side of the Atlantic.

This is a survey of a century of Anglophone literature from the mid 19th to the mid-20th century. Since this period covers a challenging range of texts and authors from various backgrounds and nationalities, a central focus is on writers who, until a few decades ago, were hardly considered to be part of the canon: female or queer-identifying authors, writers of color, outsiders, exiles. In the case of the well-established authors, the focus is on texts that frame the impact of industrialization and mechanization; that represent landscapes of war, imagined or real; that explore technologies of time, that problematize gender and sexuality; and on less explored themes, such as the occult and the surreal. The course considers the distinctive characteristics of a range of literary genres; identify the historical and cultural movements specific to each period; and read the themes and formal elements of poetry, prose and essays against the social and political backgrounds that compose the ‘Brave New Worlds’ of the era.

This course is part of the “ethical turn” in literary studies. It posits that reading great works of fiction offers us a vicarious moral and political experience that can be discussed collectively. Learning to debate fiction means confronting our interpretations of the characters' motivations, analyzing the effects of narrative devices on us, and comparing our spontaneous judgments. It means using great works as a vehicle for genuine democratic conversation about our political disagreements and differences in moral sensibilities. The theme that serves as the guiding thread is the dilemmas faced and choices made by fictional characters. Because literature is also an archive of moral sensibilities that are no longer our own, the effort to comment on and give meaning to dilemmas that we no longer understand can shed light on our own values.

This course introduces students to the study of comparative literature through plays written in the 20th and 21st century from France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Russia, Spain, the UK, and the USA. All texts are read in English translation. The course introduces students to a representative and canonical range of fictional works, with focus on one literary genre - drama - and one over-arching theme. The theme is currently "Staging the Political," but may change depending on staff availability. 

This course examines how a transnational poetic and artistic movement emerged in response to the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The assassination of Federico García Lorca catalyzed a broad mobilization of Spanish poets and, soon after, of international writers and artists such as Pablo Picasso, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Pablo Neruda, W. H. Auden, Louis Aragon, and Paul Éluard in support of the Republican cause. Through close readings of works by García Lorca, Miguel Hernández, Rafael Alberti, and Neruda—written within or in reaction to the conflict—the course analyzes how poetry confronts historical crisis and transforms political events into aesthetic expression. In parallel, it studies the formation of institutions and networks that united artists worldwide, using this “artistic international” as a framework to reflect on the historical role of poets, translators, and visual artists.

At the crossroads of new academic trends and exciting critical debates in research areas such as Postcolonial Studies, World Literature or Translation Studies, this team-taught course introduces students to the theory and practice of Comparative Literature in its 21st-century context. We compare seminal works originally published in English, Italian, French, German, Russian and Japanese, via a series of key transversal themes. All texts studied are available in English translation.