CO 220 - Topics in Comparative Literature:Literature and Other Disciplines

Institution:

Colorado College

Subject:

Description:

Intermediate level consideration of various topics in comparative literature with particular emphasis on comparisons between literature and other disciplines. Topics might include a particular period or theme. Texts usually in English but with reference to non-English materials within the competence of students. (May be offered as a January half-block.) Block 2: Topics in Comparative Literature: Greek Lyric Poetry and Philosophy. This course explores the fact that both lyric poetry and philosophy, as we know them in the West, have their roots in the culture of archaic Greece. Through close reading of texts by such poets as Archilochus, Sappho, Alcaeus (7th and 6th centuries BCE). Xenophanes (6th century BC), and Simonides (6th to 5th centuries BCE) and equally close reading of texts by such Presocratic philosophers as Heraclitus, Parmenides, and Empedocles (largely 5th century BCE), we will examine the variety of ways in which these writers articulated and constituted their individual place in the space between culture and nature. We will turn to Plato's Ion and Symposium to see how the lyric and the philosophical are explicitly united in the writing of perhaps the greatest thinker in the Western tradition. In an effort to isolate what is distinctive about the lyric impulse and the philosophical impulse, we will also read from the Iliad of Homer (8th century BCE), the Oresteia of Aeschylus (5th century BCE), and Longus' Daphnis and Chloe (ca. 200CE ). The course will conclude with close reading of several 20th century and contemporary Greek poets-including Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933) and George Seferis (1900-1971), among others-whose work embodies the continuing dialogue between lyric poetry and philosophy. Exploring village life at harvest time as well as the ancient and modern polis, this course will be taught in Greece. After a short stay in Athens, we will spend roughly a week on the island of Lesbos (home of Sappho and Alcaeus, and the setting of Daphnis and Chloe), a week in the Peloponnesos, and a final week in Athens (where we expect to give our students the opportunity to meet and interact with contemporary Greek writers.) Prerequisite: Consent of instructor (taught in Greece) ~$500*. (Also listed as English 280 and Philosophy 203.) 1 unit - Lee, Mason. Block 4: Topics in Comparative Literature. Prerequisite: Spanish 306 or consent of instructor (taught in Chile) ~$3000 plus food*. (Also listed as Spanish 316.) 1 unit - Bizzarro, Skarmeta. Block 5: Topics in Comparative Literature: Freedom and Empire-- The Drama of Ancient Politics. Are all the most serious problems of politics in principle resolvable Can we even make fundamental progress toward resolving them Or are we faced with a tragedy of irresolvable conflicts The comedy of flawed efforts to resolve them This course explores particular aspects of this general question through the reading of dramatic literature from various times and places, including especially the plays of Shakespeare and Aristophanes. (Also listed as Classics 222 and Political Science 234.) 1 unit - Grace. Block 7: Topics in Comparative Literature: Childhood in Japanese History. In this course we will examine the construction of childhood in Japan, primarily through literary texts about and for children. We will supplement this with a variety of texts from other fields (history, sociology, anthropology, art, and music). Through an analysis of the printed text and cultural artifacts, we will come to an understanding of the process of how childhood in Japan has evolved into its current status. (Also listed as Japanese 250 and Asian Studies 250.) 1 unit - Ericson. Block 8: Topics in Comparative Literature: Literature and the Environmental Imagination. (Also listed as English 280.) 1 unit - Tynan.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.coloradocollege.edu

Phone Number:

(719) 389-6000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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