Comparative History of Literature

2023/2024

Учебный год

ENG

Обучение ведется на английском языке

6

Кредиты

Кто читает:

Департамент филологии

Статус:

Курс обязательный

Когда читается:

4-й курс, 1, 2 модуль

Преподаватель

Зеленин Даниил Андреевич

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This course charts an engaging path through seminal works and cutting-edge issues in comparative literature and world literature. We will explore influential critical frameworks that provide enlightening lenses for analysis across languages and cultures. Our journey moves from founding voices like Veselovsky, Curtius and Damrosch to the evolving debates surrounding the comparative study of national and global literary traditions today. Central themes include cultural encounter, the representation of difference, the role of artistic tradition and evolution of styles across borders. We will hone skills for close reading and conceptual analysis while synthesizing insights from theorists ranging from A.N. Veselovsky to M. Foucault. Discussion will highlight both cross-cultural connections and persistence of diversity amidst globalization. The course also illuminates literature’s interplay with fields like linguistics, psychology, and music. The course will also cover the methodological shift from Eurocentric approaches in Comparative Literature to an open canon of globalized/transnational World Literature(s), negotiating a balanced and up-to-date view of today’s state of the discipline.

Learning Objectives

• 1) To consolidate the student’s integrated understanding of the discipline’s evolution, influential figures, and schools of thought that shaped its trajectory over the past two centuries
• 2) To develop a nuanced perspective on current issues, debates, and methodological approaches within the dynamic field of contemporary comparative literature
• 3) Gain exposure to essential theoretical frameworks for the comparative study of world literature, ranging from reader response and postcolonialism to microhistories and hermeneutic philosophy
• 4) Acquire critical tools and analytical skills to illuminate relationships between diverse literary traditions and cultural worldviews
• 5) Appreciate how the cross-pollination of artistic forms, as exemplified in word and music studies, enriches interdisciplinary analysis
• 6) Discern connections across temporal, geographic, and linguistic divides through the study of translation, artistic influence, and intertextuality
• 7) Comprehend literature in its multifaceted cultural contexts while considering future trajectories of this fast-evolving global field

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Students will comprehend and utilize key theoretical terminology essential to the discipline of contemporary comparative and world literature
• Students will apply conceptual frameworks like postcolonialism or archetypal criticism with rigor when analyzing literary works across diverse traditions
• Students will understand the interrelatedness of artistic forms by examining intersections between literature and other media
• Students will elaborate on and apply central concepts of Comparative Literature Studies to their individual research projects
• Students collaborate on small group research projects and report their findings in public
• Students read the assigned original and translated texts in English and engage in group discussions of challenging theoretical and literary issues by expressing their judgments, questioning suggested interpretations, and maintaining scholarly debate

Course Contents

• Block 1. Comparative History of Literature and World Literature
• Block 2. History, Reading and Interpretive Frameworks: Comparative Approaches in Theory
• Block 3. Going International: Comparative Perspectives in Global Literature
• Block 4. Translating World Voices: Comparative Literature and Translation Studies

Assessment Elements

• Participation
  Students are expected to attend all lectures and seminars and contribute to discussions. They need to be prepared for class by having read the assigned texts and having made debatable questions about them. They contribute to seminar discussions by asking and answering questions relevant to the corresponding class section.
• Quiz
  Each quiz has 30 multiple-choice questions. It is taken in classroom on the scheduled date and time and lasts 30 minutes. Students are not allowed to use any notes and materials within that time limit.
• Final project / oral examination
  Students are given a choice of two tracks. Track 1 is more familiar, an oral examination. Students opting for an oral exam instead of a final project defense will be assessed through an oral presentation and discussion of course topics. The exam will involve random selection of two questions from a pool provided in advance. Questions will address major texts, concepts, theorists, and frameworks spanning the course’s four core blocks. After randomly selecting two questions, students will have 30 minutes to prepare responses with notes. They may refer to texts and materials, but no new research is expected. Students will then deliver an oral presentation in English addressing both selected questions, summarizing key points and articulating examples, lasting 10-15 minutes total. This will be followed by a conversation-style discussion with the instructor to clarify, elaborate, and synthesize ideas related to the questions. Students should be prepared to engage in thoughtful dialogue and defend their perspectives. The oral exam allows students to demonstrate integrated understanding of course topics through spoken articulation, presentation, and conversational exchange. It emphasizes preparation across the breadth of comparative approaches studied. Track 2 is a project and its defense. The final project provides students the opportunity to develop their own conceptual framework around their diploma paper topic through continual note-making and linking of ideas. Students will construct a personal knowledge base reflecting their evolving perspective. Project Requirements: – Each student is obliged to select a diploma paper topic that they will be researching throughout the year. This topic is explored through their weekly atomic note-making. – Over the course duration, students will write at least 10 original atomic idea notes per week, totaling a minimum of 150 notes. – Each note (50-500 words) will represent a new concept, idea, or perspective related to their topic. Direct quotes should be used sparingly. – Students are encouraged to find connections between ideas, texts, and concepts covered in the course reading and their independent note-making. – Notes must reflect the student’s own critical thinking and analysis of their topic, going beyond summarizing. – Any sources referenced in notes must be properly cited using MLA format. – Students will organize notes digitally using a connected note-taking tool (Obsidian, Notion, Zettlr, Remnote, etc.) Notes will be submitted weekly via LMS. – The final product will be a conceptual framework made up of these interconnected notes reflecting the student’s synthesized understanding of their diploma paper topic. – In the day of the project defense students will present their note-making process and how it enhanced their thinking on their topic.

Interim Assessment

• 2023/2024 2nd module
  0.4 * Final project / oral examination + 0.2 * Participation + 0.2 * Participation + 0.1 * Quiz + 0.1 * Quiz

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• César Domínguez, Haun Saussy, & Darío Villanueva. (2014). Introducing Comparative Literature : New Trends and Applications. Routledge.
• Michelle Evans Restrepo. (2016). Comparative reading of The cheese and the worms by Carlo Ginzburg and The Inheriting Power by Giovanni Levi. Historia y Sociedad, (30), 105. https://doi.org/10.15446/hys.n30.52472

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Companion to Comparative Literature, World Literatures, and Comparative Cultural Studies. (2009). Foundation Books. https://doi.org/10.1017/upo9789382993803