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Graduate
Course Descriptions
Fall 2007
Comparative Literature | Foreign
Languages | French |
German | Greek | Latin |
Russian | Spanish
| Comparative
Literature |
CPLT 700: Proseminar in Comparative Literature
Taught by Professor Vazsonyi
M 3:00 pm – 3:50 pm
Introduction to the formal study of Comparative Literature and
Modern Languages & Literatures. The class will examine four
interrelated areas: 1) the nature of literary study at the graduate
level; 2) current professional conditions for comparatists and
literary scholars; 3) designing a coherent program of study;
and 4) writing on a professional level. Students are expected
to do the assigned readings and come to class prepared. Each
student will also write a five page analysis of Franz Kafka’s
“Before the Law” (“Vor dem Gesetz”)
in MLA Style. This paper will go through numerous drafts,
and will receive criticism both from the instructor and classmates.
Although there are only three formal dates for the submission
of paper drafts, past experience confirms that turning in
weekly drafts yields the best papers. Students will also draft
a program of study that will serve as a guide for their future
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CPLT 701: Classics of Criticism
Taught by Professor Rhu
TTH 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm
This course will center upon a series of topics both theoretical
and practical that may include the following or other equally
central issues in the history of literature and criticism
until 1700: classics and canons, the Bible and traditional
exegesis, Homer and Plato, Aristotle and genre theory, Dante
and allegory, Renaissance theories of poetry. Both poetics
and poetry will claim our attention. Students will be urged
to read or reread ancient poetic works referred to by the
above critics (e.g. Homer's epics, Oedipus tyrannus, the Aeneid)
as well as later examples of literary practice that conformed
to or defied the theories examined.
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CPLT 703H: Plato and Poststructuralism
LINK TO SYLLABUS
Taught by Professor Miller
M 3:00 pm – 5:45 pm
This course argues that a key element of postmodern French intellectual
life has been the understanding of classical antiquity and its
relationship to postmodern philosophical inquiry. In it I concentrate
on the works of Lacan, Derrida, and Foucault. It would, of course,
have been possible to choose others. The extent of the influence
of antiquity on such luminaries of French postmodern thought
as Gilles Deleuze, Michel Serres, and Emmanuel Levinas remains
all but unexplored, while more work remains to be done on the
feminists: Kristeva, Irigaray and Cixous. Yet Lacan, Derrida,
and Foucault remain not only three of the most influential exponents
of French postmodern thought in the Anglo-American world, but
also, as our three opening quotations indicate, they demonstrate
a substantial continuity of concern in their approach to the
ancient world in general and to Platonic philosophy in particular.
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CPLT 750C: Contact Zones: Literature, Power and Representation
in the Americas
Taught by Professor Camacho
T 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
The Conquest of America initiated a process of reflecting on
the Other, measuring spaces and categorizing bodies that in
many ways will define Europe and this continent for centuries
to come. This course will explore this process, beginning with
the sixteenth century chronicles and ending with the principal
concepts of nation building in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. Emphasis will be placed on the process of mediation
and representation of blacks, Amerindians, criollos and latinos
in the differente national narratives of the continent. Thus,
this course will explore questions of space, time and the construction
of subjectivity in the work of authors such as Bartolomé
de las Casas, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, Helen Hunt
Jackson, José Martí, Langston Hughes, and Nicolás
Guillén.
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CPLT 880V [=GERM 780]: The Wagner Industry
Taught by Professor Vazsonyi
W 2:00 pm – 4:45 pm
“Richard Wagner is the most controversial artistic figure
of all time”: so opens Frederic Spotts’s acclaimed
Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival (New Haven:
Yale UP, 1994). To what extent was the controversy manufactured
by Wagner himself, in order to establish a distinct persona
and maximize his visibility in a crowded field? His success
is borne out by the mere fact that, today, there is a 10-year
waiting list for tickets to the annual Wagner Festival in Bayreuth.
This course will examine the numerous textual ways – theoretical,
journalistic, fictional, occasional, autobiographical –
in which Wagner commodified himself as “Wagner”
and branded his musical-dramatic works, all with the purpose
of establishing a unique niche for himself in the cultural marketplace
of the 19th century. His activities resulted in a Wagner “Industry”
even during his own lifetime. The discussion will be framed
historically within the European context of rising consumerism,
and the oppositional avant-garde / “art for art’s
sake” movements centered in Paris, and theoretically by
applying critiques of the same by Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno
and, more recently, by Pierre Bourdieu, Andreas Huyssen, among
others.
Reading knowledge of German is important but not
a course requirement. Most but not all course texts are available
in English. Class discussion will be conducted in English
(German optional). |
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| Foreign
Languages |
| FORL 510: Teaching Second Languages to Young Children
LINK TO SYLLABUS
Taught by Charlene Kinard
M 6:45 pm – 8:45 pm
Goal: Participants in the course will develop understandings
of effective practices for teaching new languages to young
learners and how to plan, implement, and sustain an effective
early language program.
FORL 776: The Teaching of Foreign Languages in College
Taught by Professor Ducate
TH 2:00 pm – 3:40 pm
The purpose of this course is to explore the question: How
does one effectively teach a foreign language? We will do
this by investigating several different theories of second
language acquisition (SLA) and approaches to foreign language
(FL) teaching. During the course, you will gain both practical
knowledge to incorporate into your everyday teaching as well
as an understanding of which approaches to teaching might
be more effective than others in various classroom contexts
and why. Among the topics we will discuss are: teaching methodologies
and approaches, theories of SLA, the National Standards, teaching
the 4 skills and grammar in a communicative FL classroom,
teaching culture, and testing. Through the activities you
complete and our discussions, you will gain experience rating
and developing activities for the 4 skills (listening, reading,
reading, writing), culture, and grammar, writing tests, and
evaluating textbooks for their proficiencies in teaching these
skills.
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| French |
FREN 790: 20th-Century Literature and Culture: Tradition
and Innovation
LINK TO SYLLABUS
Taught by Professor Lane
W 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm
The course will examine several sets of tensions informing the
political, social and intellectual history of 20th century France,
using the texts below as points of entry. Certain concepts (the
problem of the self, politics, class and gender dynamics) will
be highlighted while leaving space for the development of individual
research. Lecture and discussion in French.
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FREN 795: La Civilisation des Mœurs / Les Mœurs
d’une Civilisation
De la Renaissance à l’âge Classique
LINK TO SYLLABUS
Taught by Professor Persels
M 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm
En parcourant un choix d’œuvres canoniques, nous
ferons le tour de l’époque durant laquelle la société
et les lettres françaises se sont « apprivoisées
». Nous tenterons ainsi de rendre compte du rôle
prépondérant que joue ce passé devenu mythique
dans l’imaginaire français.
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| German |
GERM 700: Current Theories and Methods in German Studies
Taught by Professor Mueller
T 2:00 pm – 4:45 pm
The main objectives are to improve biographical research
skills and to introduce critical theories and analytical tools
which will then be used for interpretation of a selected text.
In addition, the course will address German Studies as a field
in its current disciplinary and institutional setting.
The course will expose students to more sophisticated ways of
understanding literary texts, as well as encouraging them to
assess their personal goals as students of German Studies and
as future contributors to an endangered field (be it as teacher,
scholar, or informed promoter of German language and culture).
GERM 780 [=CPLT
880V]: The Wagner Industry
Taught by Professor Vazsonyi
W 2:00 pm – 4:45 pm
“Richard Wagner is the most controversial artistic figure
of all time”: so opens Frederic Spotts’s acclaimed
Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival (New Haven:
Yale UP, 1994). To what extent was the controversy manufactured
by Wagner himself, in order to establish a distinct persona
and maximize his visibility in a crowded field? His success
is borne out by the mere fact that, today, there is a 10-year
waiting list for tickets to the annual Wagner Festival in Bayreuth.
This course will examine the numerous textual ways – theoretical,
journalistic, fictional, occasional, autobiographical –
in which Wagner commodified himself as “Wagner”
and branded his musical-dramatic works, all with the purpose
of establishing a unique niche for himself in the cultural marketplace
of the 19th century. His activities resulted in a Wagner “Industry”
even during his own lifetime. The discussion will be framed
historically within the European context of rising consumerism,
and the oppositional avant-garde / “art for art’s
sake” movements centered in Paris, and theoretically by
applying critiques of the same by Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno
and, more recently, by Pierre Bourdieu, Andreas Huyssen, among
others.
Reading knowledge of German is important but not
a course requirement. Most but not all course texts are available
in English. Class discussion will be conducted in English
(German optional). |
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| Russian |
RUSS 598P: Russian Poetry
Taught by Professor Ogden
MWF 1:25 pm – 2:15 pm
This course provides an introduction to Russia's poetic
tradition in the original language, with focus on the "Golden
Age" (early nineteenth century) and "Silver Age"
(early twentieth century). Poets studied include, among others,
Pushkin, Lermontov, Nekrasov, Blok, Belyi, Mandel'shtam, Akhmatova,
Tsvetaeva, and Pasternak. The class will emphasize analysis
of the poetry itself but will also introduce necessary background
information as well as new concepts and terminology. Students
will focus on a core text for each class and prepare thoughts
and questions for discussion. Readings in the original Russian;
class conducted in both Russian and English. Prereq.: RUSS 302
or equivalent level of Russian.
RUSS 598G [=LING 505R]: Structure of Russian
Taught by Dr. Ford
MWF 12:20-1:10
An introduction to the linguistic structure of Russian, with
particular attention to phonology and morphology. Topics to
be covered include practical Russian phonetics, especially as
contrasted with English; phonetic vs. phonemic transcription,
and the economical but occasionally deceptive Russian spelling
system; word-building in Russian; and the one-stem approach
to Russian verbs. Although the course takes a largely synchronic
approach to contemporary standard Russian, several historical
sound shifts will also be discussed to shed light on a number
of important alternations in modern Russian. |
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| Spanish |
SPAN 500: Contemporary Spanish Culture
Taught by Professor Mabrey
MW 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm
A course designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate
students and intended to provide a general overview of the major
historical events of twentieth century Spain, and how they have
affected changes in Spain’s present day culture and society.
The scope is to analyze Spain’s cultural evolution from
the Civil War to the present democracy by studying a number
of representative texts. Literature, the arts, films and Internet
will be discussed in class. Students will be aware of high and
popular cultures, and the role of cultural politics in defining
nation, ethnicity and identity.
SPAN 512:
Taught by Professor Marsh
TTH 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm
SPAN 541 [=LASP 496]: Colonial Spanish-American Literature
LINK TO
SYLLABUS
Taught by Professor Lagos
MW 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm
Survey of the most notable Spanish chronicles, letters, and
histories of the encounter between Europeans and Amerindians
in the American continent. The course starts with Columbus’
Log, and ends by the XVIII century, period in which Spanish-American
literature clearly manifests the already strong foundation of
diverse national identities in the region. This course also
covers the most significant texts left by the indigenous people
who expressed, in their own voices, “the reverse of the
conquest” and the apocalyptic ending of their world.
SPAN 746: Post Baroque Spanish Drama
Taught by Professor Mabrey
T 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
The course is a graduate seminar focusing on Spanish theatre
from the eighteenth century to the present. Spanish plays are
studied within the context of the European stage. Stage theories
that changed the theatre in the 20th century are examined and
tested in plays by Moratín, Zorrilla, Valle-Inclán,
García Lorca, Buero Vallejo, Arrabal and others. An overview
of works by Ionesco, Pirandello, Becket, Artaud and Brecht is
intended to observe certain dimensions of Spanish plays within
the limits of theatre and reality these authors propose.
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