The Literature of the Occult

Catalog description

Important literary works dealing with witchcraft, demonology, vampirism, ghosts, and related concepts, from biblical times to present. CMLIT 120 The Literature of the Occult (3) (GH;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. CMLIT 120 is the study of literatures of the occult. Through readings of creative and critical works, you will develop an enhanced awareness of the variations among cultures and historical periods in accepting, fostering, tolerating or sometimes suppressing-unorthodox traditions. Our range of readings from world literature will show that what is rejected or scorned in one cultural context may be tolerated or even honored in another. You will also explore the social, political, ethical and religious implications of "occult." The course will be designed to compare various manifestations of the occult in literatures from around the globe and throughout history. You will explore issues of difference, and will develop an awareness of the tendency to demonize the 'strange' and 'inaccessible.' Through various texts from around the world, you will develop the ability to analyze literature in different ways. Readings will be examined both within their cultural context, and in relation to widely found or perhaps universal themes of the occult which transcend the boundaries of time and place. CMLIT 120 is one of the many choices of survey courses which count towards the Comparative Literature major and the World Literature minor. This course also fulfills the General Education Humanities requirement, the Bachelor of Arts Humanities requirement, or the United States and International Cultures requirement.