Global Great Books

Catalog description

This graduate seminar will be devoted to reading a 'great' artistic text very closely, followed by a detailed reading of a few exemplary critical interpretations of that text. Phelan will choose exemplary pairings from dramatic literature -- Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, alongside Homans and J. Hillis Miller; Shakespeare's King Lear, alongside Cavell's "The Avoidance of Love"; Beckett's Waiting for Godot, alongside Esslin's Theatre of the Absurd -- and then we will consider points of contact between James Baldwin and Toni Morrison, both of whom wrote brilliant critical and artistic texts. Each graduate student will be asked to select a 'great' artistic text and a key critical essay elucidating that text. The student will then lead the seminar in a discussion, concentrating on what makes the chosen texts worth close attention. Artistic texts can be drawn from any tradition or genre but, if needed, must be accessible in English translation and available to all members of the seminar. Texts and topics must be approved by Phelan in advance of the presentation. Final papers will further elaborate the presentation. Focused close reading, rather than 'surface reading,' will be emphasized. Student contributions to the seminar will be key to a successful course.