Courses - CWL Upper Division
General Education Category A must be completed prior to taking any upper-division course except upper-division language courses where students meet formal prerequisites and/or competency equivalent for advanced study.
300. Representing the World: Literature and Culture in Contact and Conflict (3)
Prerequisite: GE Foundation and upper-division status. Students must have scored 11 or higher on the GWAR Placement Examination or successfully completed the necessary portfolio course that is a prerequisite for a GWAR Writing Intensive Capstone.
A writing-intensive exploration of world literature in comparative and cultural contexts, with an emphasis on themes and topics of global relevance.
305. Science Fiction and Global Technologies (3)
Prerequisite: G.E. Foundation and upper-division status.
Comparative study of science fiction as a global discipline, across cultures and time periods, emphasizing technological advances, sociopolitical implications, and imaginative constructions.
315. Literature and Medicine (3)
Prerequisite: GE Foundation requirements, one or more Exploration courses, and upper-division standing.
Interdisciplinary examination of the complex relationship between medicine and human experience, integrating materials from the humanities and social sciences to explore diverse experiences across cultures, between and among genders, and in various economic and social contexts.
Letter grade only (A-F).
320. Comic Spirit (3)
Prerequisites: GE Foundation requirements, one or more Exploration courses, and upper-division standing.
Study of comedy as a literary genre and of the manifestation of the comic spirit in related art forms such as music, art, and film, focusing on the history and philosophy of comedy as well as theories of laughter.
324. Theatre Today (3)
Prerequisites: GE Foundation requirements, one or more Exploration courses, and upper-division standing.
Examines current trends, achievements and problems in contemporary western theatre and dramatic literature. Particular attention will be paid to multicultural expression in the theatre.
Same course as THEA 324. Not open for credit to students with credit in THEA 324.
330A,B. Masterpieces of European Literature (3,3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Representative selections, in translation, of European texts to and since the Renaissance, and their relation to the development of Western civilization.
334. Introduction to East Asian Literatures and
Cultures (3)
Prerequisite: GE Foundation requirements.
A comprehensive introduction to the comparative study of East Asian cultures through the reading of representative selections from the literatures of China, Korea, and Japan in historical context. Focus is on the modern period.
Not open for credit to students with credit in A/ST 334.
342. The Bible as Literature (3)
Prerequisite: GE Foundation requirements.
Reading of representative Biblical selections interpreted from a literary standpoint.
344. Literature of the Holocaust (3)
Prerequisites: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Intensive study of literary works of different genres and cultural backgrounds, from 1945 to the present, to analyze the strategies writers use to present the historical events and the cultural reverberations of the Holocaust.
346. Readings in World Poetry (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Representative selections of the poetry of the world from the earliest examples to the present. Facing-page translations will be included.
349. Selected Topics – Literary Movements (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Intensive study of a movement or theme in world literature. Specific movement or theme announced in the Schedule of Classes.
May be repeated to a maximum of 9 units with different topics.
350. Global Literature in American Culture (3)
Prerequisites: GE Foundation requirements, one or more Exploration courses, and upper-division standing.
Comparative and thematic study of transnational literary culture, as represented in at least three distinct American ethnic groups. Readings examined in relation to contemporary global themes and in relation to the original national literatures.
361. Masterpieces of Literary Criticism (3)
Study of literary criticism from Plato to the present, focusing on history of literary and cultural theory as well as methods of critical analysis applied to literary texts and other forms of cultural expression.
365. Cultural Studies: Histories, Theories, and Issues (3)
Prerequisite: one course in literature or instructor's consent.
Cultural studies in a global, comparative context, including theories of discursive practices and identity politics; examined through theoretical discourses about literature and the arts and also as an interpretive technique for cultural institutions, practices, and products.
366. Classical Stories, Modern Voices (3)
Prerequisite: GE Foundation requirements and upper-division standing.
Comparative readings of ancient literature in a global context, including analysis of classical literary genres and archetypes, their modern interpretations/rewritings, and their echoes in popular culture.
Same course as CLSC 366. Not open for credit to students with credit in CLSC 366.
402./502. Selected Topics - Middle Eastern Literature and Culture (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Study of specific authors, themes, genres, movements, or aspects of literature and culture in the Middle East or between the Middle East and the West.
May be repeated to a maximum of 6 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
403./503. Selected Topics - Asian Literature (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Interrelationships of two or more authors, themes, genres, movements or aspects of literature and culture in Asia or between Asia and the West.
May be repeated to a maximum of 9 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
404./504. Selected Topics - Women in World Literature (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Study of the role of women in world literature.
May be repeated to a maximum of 6 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
406./506. Selected Topics - East European Literature and Culture (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Major movements, authors, and themes in Eastern European literature and culture (Slavic and non-Slavic) and/or the relationship of East European literature and culture and Western Europe and North America.
May be repeated to a maximum of 6 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
410. Literature and Music (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Examination of relationship between music and literature in 19th and 20th centuries with emphasis placed on representative literary works and musical compositions that show mutual influences and common features and structures.
412. Art and Literature (3)
Prerequisites: GE Foundation requirements, one or more Exploration courses, and upper-division standing.
Interdisciplinary study of 19th and 20th Century art and literature, emphasizing comparative analysis of styles, methods, principles, and movements across genres as well as major artists, writers and theorists in their social and historical contexts.
414. Medieval World (3)
Prerequisites: GE Foundation, one or more Exploration courses, and upper-division standing.
Interdisciplinary examination of major themes in medieval society and culture, with an emphasis on literature, the arts, and the historical forces that combined to produce medieval culture as a whole.
415. Ethnic Literature and Culture in America (3)
Prerequisites: GE Foundation, one or more Exploration courses, and upper-division standing.
Comparative, interdisciplinary study of multicultural literature in historical and sociopolitical context. Ethnic groups include Native American, African American, Latino/Latina, Asian American and Middle Eastern American.
420. Selected Topics - Comic Spirit (3)
Prerequisite: CWL 320 or consent of instructor.
Study of specific themes, theories, genres and/or interdisciplinary relationships in comedy.
May be repeated for a maximum of 6 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
422. Renaissance Theatre and Drama (3)
Prerequisites: GE Foundation requirements, one or more Exploration courses, and upper-division standing.
Interdisciplinary study of the achievements, problems, themes and trends of Renaissance drama in Italy, Spain, France, and England between 1350 and 1650. Major plays of the period are read in translation, with attention to literary and theatrical elements.
430./530. Dante (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
A reading, in translation, of the major works of Dante, including the Vita Nuova and the Divine Comedy. Examination is also given to the comparative nature of Dante's work: his sources and his influence on later writers, artists, and composers.
432./532. Continental Renaissance Literature (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Comparative study of the major non-dramatic works of Renaissance Europe, including authors such as Petrarch, Boccaccio, Lorenzo de' Medici, Machiavelli, Ariosto, Tasso, Ronsard, Rabelais, Erasmus, and Cervantes. Emphasis is also given to influences, trends, and contributions to the modern world.
435./535. Literature of the Enlightenment (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
A comparative study of European literature, from approximately 1650 to 1800, with an emphasis on reading literary works within historical context and considering the imaginative and intellectual achievements and legacies of the Enlightenment.
437./537. Romantic Literature (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Representative selections, in translation, from European writers of the Romantic period with an emphasis on a comparative study of works from Germany and France from about 1770-1850.
438./538. 20th Century European Literature (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Comparative study of continental European literature from 1900 to present. Focus on novels and drama. Topics include realism, naturalism, psychological novel, theatre of the absurd, existentialism, modernism, postmodernism, and postcolonialism.
440./540. Selected Topics - Latin American Literary Studies (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Comparative study of major literary genres in Latin American literature in relation to principal periods and movements of Western literary tradition.
May be repeated to a maximum of 9 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
445./545. Selected Topics - American Folklore Studies (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Topics chosen to provide a bridge between literary, aesthetic and specialized folkloristic studies of American culture. Special attention paid to European and Third World contributions to American folklore.
May be repeated to a maximum of 9 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
448./548. Selected Topics - Comparative Studies (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Interrelationship of two or more disciplines, with emphasis on reciprocal influences and borrowing of materials during various literary periods. The class will feature a different interdisciplinary study each semester.
May be repeated to a maximum of 9 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
449./549. Selected Topics - Major Continental Writers (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Intensive and comparative study of one to three major continental authors.
May be repeated to a maximum of 9 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
- A. Nobel Prize Laureates
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
451. Film and Novel in Society (3)
Prerequisites: GE Foundation requirements, one or more Exploration courses, and upper-division standing.
Interdisciplinary study of two genres, with particular focus on novels made into films and on aesthetic distinction of both forms as major genres in 20th and 21st centuries.
452./552. Selected Topics - Mythology (3)
Prerequisites: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Interrelation of two or more mythologies, mythological themes or theories of mythology. Different areas of study of mythology each semester.
May be repeated to a maximum of 9 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
453./553. Fairy Tales (3)
Prerequisite: One course in literature or consent of instructor.
Study of fairy tale as a unique literary genre and art form. Class will apply contemporary theory to tales and identify psychological, religious, cultural, and alchemical patterns and symbols that manifest the realization of identity and illustrate creative processes.
461./561. Selected Topics - Contemporary Literary Criticism (3)
Prerequisite: Two upper-division literature courses or consent of instructor.
In-depth study of a particular critic or movement in contemporary literary theory.
May be repeated to a maximum of 9 units with different topics. Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes.
492. Internship Program (1-3)
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and department chair.
Field work in literature-related industries. Internships and other assignments directed by a supervising faculty member.
May be repeated to a maximum of 6 units. Credit/No Credit grading only.
495. Genre (1-3)
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Production of student journal, Genre, including editing, design, soliciting contributors, working with printer, desktop publishing, and financial management. Organizational meeting previous fall semester. Contact department office for information.
May be repeated to a maximum of 9 units. Credit/No Credit grading only.
499. Directed Studies (1-4)
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Independent study of special topics under supervision of a faculty member.
May be repeated to a maximum of 6 units with consent of department.
