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Regular version of the site

Comparative Aspects of the Study of Literature and Art

2020/2021
Academic Year
ENG
Instruction in English
4
ECTS credits
Course type:
Elective course
When:
2 year, 4 module

Instructor


Shkolnikov, Vadim

Course Syllabus

Abstract

Contemporary comparative approaches to literature and arts need to consider a wide range of cross-cultural and transnational dynamics. This relates mainly to two dynamics of transgression: a) transgression of space and spatial borders and b) transgression of language barriers (by means of translation, multilingual narration, linguistic diversity of literary communities etc.). Furthermore, an advanced understanding of Comparative Studies conceives of literature as an agent within a network of different media and arts. Cross-media and inter-media aspects of literature, such as the interferences of cinematic and literary narration or the intersections of poetry and performance, are at play here. The course combines theoretical comprehensions and exemplary readings of literary works. Knowledge of Russian is not required.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • To give a student understanding of literature and of the arts beyond the confinements of national borders and beyond isolated developmental trajectories of national literatures.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • A student understands the changing cross-cultural dynamics of literary history (romanticism, modernism, postmodernism)
  • A student articulately describes aesthetic and cultural aspects of spatial and linguistic literary text structures.
  • A student conceptualizes a comprehensive view of Comparative Literature Studies in general.
  • A student develops their skills in analytical reading individual paradigmatic works.
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • SPACE
    Cross-cultural perspectives on the history of modern literature and key notions of its conceptualization (“world literature”, “transnational literature”); the chronotope of migration; the cultural semiotics of borders and border transgression
  • LANGUAGE
    Studying literature from a multilingual point of view (bilingual or multilingual narrators, “translational turn” in Cultural Studies, literary polyphonism in the age of cultural globalization)
  • MEDIA
    Cross- and intermedial dynamics in modern and contemporary arts as a challenge for literary practice and literary theory; entanglements of literature with cinema and performance
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Attendance and Class Participation
    At lectures and seminars, students are expected to respond actively to the professor’s guiding questions and asking questions of their own, as well as contribute to class discussions.
  • non-blocking Class Participation
  • non-blocking Written examination
    In class, students write a short essay (3 or 4 pages) on a topic that is closely related to one of the course lectures. The exam takes 3 hours. Students are allowed to use their course materials for reference
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (4 module)
    0.35 * Attendance and Class Participation + 0.15 * Class Participation + 0.5 * Written examination
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Damrosch, D. (2017). How to Read World Literature (Vol. Second edition). Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1553409
  • Pizer, J. (2000). Goethe’s “World Literature” Paradigm and Contemporary Cultural Globalization. Comparative Literature, 52(3), 213. https://doi.org/10.1215/-52-3-213

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Apter, E. S., Rendall, S., & Cassin, B. (2013). Dictionary of Untranslatables : A Philosophical Lexicon. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=662253
  • Introduction : the translational turn. (2009). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.6D687D6A
  • Wood, M., & Bermann, S. (2005). Nation, Language, and the Ethics of Translation. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=305805