Comparative Seminar in Inter-American Literatures

Catalog description

Comparative topics presenting literary works of the Americas--North America, South America, and the Caribbean--from early to present times. CMLIT 521 CMLIT 521 Comparative Seminar in Inter-American Literatures (1-12)This course forms one series of three new-course proposals for seminars in comparative literature with a focus on various parts of the world. While existing seminars focus on comparative studies organized according to concepts such as literary theory, period, theme, or genre, through the proposed new seminars the Department of Comparative Literature seeks to provide visibility for the full complement of courses that reflect the department's global perspective. These proposals also respond to the College's policy to avoid repeated use of the 597 number for similar subject-matter. Thus we are proposing three separate comparative courses on Asian, African, and Inter-American literatures. All represent subject-matter previously taught as CMLIT 597 or other less clearly defined CMLIT numbers.Comparative study of Inter-American literatures is an important part of the curriculum of our Comparative Literature Department. It is a field of study identified as one of our specialties in our recent strategic plans. Joining existing graduate seminars in European literatures, and supplementing proposed seminars in African and Asian literatures, this course and the other two new graduate courses now being proposed will make visible the ways in which the departmental curriculum to covers the diverse geographic areas relevant to comparative literary study.Our department has long taught 100-level and 400-level courses on Inter-American Literature. We believe that we were the first U.S. university to have created such courses some twenty-five years ago. Many of our graduate students possess appropriate languages (such as Spanish, Portuguese, and French) necessary for study in this field.The Americas as two joined continents have produced thousands of writers and a highly diverse literature written in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and other languages, including Native American languages. A comparative approach to the study of these literatures provides an appropriately internationalized context for understanding the relations among various literatures of the Americas and for seeing them in the purview of world literature as a whole.In sum, we have long had separate numbers for our undergraduate Inter-American Literature courses and we have previously offered graduate Inter-American courses under general numbers. In addition to complying with College policy and not continuing to use 597 repeatedly, we wish to make this field more visible within our curriculum by giving it a course number of its own.