First-Year Seminar in Comparative Literature

Catalog description

International topics in literature and culture; each seminar will have a specific topic as announced (see the Comparative Literature Web site). CMLIT 83S First-Year Seminar in Comparative Literature (3) (GH;FYS;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course has two main purposes: to introduce first-year students to college study in the Liberal Arts, especially in literature as a humanities field of lifelong value, regardless of their majors; and to explore one of the most important trends of our time, which is the emphasis upon globalization and intercultural competence. In a small-class format that fosters individual engagement, the course includes practical guidance to help students optimize the opportunities available to them at Penn State, along with experiencing an international, intercultural approach to ways that literature addresses issues of crucial personal and social importance. With an entire world of literature to choose from, the theme of each seminar varies. Sample themes include "Hero-Tales: Boundaries between Fact and Fiction," "Literature, Health, and Wellness," "Cosmopolitan Cities, Real and Imagined," "Books that Change Lives," "America Seen from Elsewhere," "World Literature, Human Rights, and the Environment," "Myth, Legend, and Gender Identities," or "Forbidden Stories: Literature and Censorship." Course materials will cross boundaries of time, place, identities, languages, and cultures, and will often include media such as graphic narrative (comics) and film.