11 - 20 of 168 results for: COMPLIT

Rather than try to examine the whole of such an extensive body of work by artists of Mexican descent living in Mexico and the United States, the focus will be on the transnational themes of border thinking, memory, and identity (both personal and collective). Looking at the foundational poetry, auto-ethnographies, and narratives by Américo Paredes and Gloria Anzaldúa and how their literary and ethnographic work laid the groundwork for subsequent imaginings in the narratives, poetry, and theory of border thinking and writing. We will explore the trans-frontier cultural conditions under which imaginative literary texts are produced, disseminated, and received. We will consider not only the historical transnational experiences that inform these borderlands texts but the potential futures of Mexico and the United States they imagine.

Preference to sophomores. What is meant by ethnic literature? How is ethnic writing different from non-ethnic writing, or is there such a thing as either? How does ethnicity as an analytic perspective affect the way literature is read by ethnic peoples? Articles and works of fiction; films on ethnic literature and cultural politics. How ethnic literature represents the nexus of social, historical, political, and personal issues.

We may "know" "who" we "are," but we are, after all, social creatures. How does our sense of self interact with those around us? How does literature provide a particular medium for not only self expression, but also for meditations on what goes into the construction of "the Self"? After all, don't we tell stories in response to the question, "who are you"? Besides a list of nouns and names and attributes, we give our lives flesh and blood in telling how we process the world. Our course focuses in particular on this question--Does this universal issue ("who am I") become skewed differently when we add a qualifier before it, like "ethnic"?

Human rights may be universal, but each appeal comes from a specific location with its own historical, social, and cultural context. This summer we will turn to literary narratives and films from a wide number of global locations to help us understand human rights; each story taps into fundamental beliefs about justice and ethics, from an eminently human and personal point of view. What does it mean not to have access to water, education, free speech, for example?nnThis course has two components. The first will be a set of readings on the history and ethos of modern human rights. These readings will come from philosophy, history, political theory. The second, and major component is comprised of novels and films that come from different locations in the world, each telling a compelling story. nnWe will come away from this class with a good introduction to human rights history and philosophy and a set of insights into a variety of imaginative perspectives on human rights issues from different global locations.nnReadings include:nAmnesty International, Freedom: Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human RightsnAndrew Clapman, Human Rights: A Very Short IntroductionnJames Dawes, That the World May KnownWalter Echo-Hawk, In the Light of JusticenAmitav Ghosh, The Hungry TidenBessie Head, MarunUrsula LeGuin, The Word for World is Forest

Preference to freshmen.This course considers a variety of animal characters in Chinese and Western literatures as potent symbols of cultural values and dynamic sites of ethical reasoning. What does pervasive animal imagery tell us about how we relate to the world and our neighbors? How do animals define the frontiers of humanity and mediate notions of civilization and culture? How do culture, institutions, and political economy shape concepts of human rights and animal welfare? And, above all, what does it mean to be human in the pluralistic and planetary 21st century?

Come to discuss literature and comparative literary studies in a relaxed and informative class, over lunch. You will meet comparative literature faculty and graduate students who will share their work, their experiences, and interests in literature. Discussions will range from the challenges and excitement of studying medieval Chinese poetry to blogging about the humanities; the relation of different cultures¿ notions of aesthetics and the role literature plays, and much more. Topics will also be generated by class participants. No pre-requisites.

Introduction (suitable for freshmen and seniors) to three themes: (1) How to Do Theory (with G.F.W. Hegel). (2) The Glittering Arab World (with Ahmad Faris Shidyaq). (3) 21st Century Genders (with Judith Butler). Fulfills the Writing in the Major Requirement. Gateway to the Comparative Literature Major.

Focusing on the emotional structure of love and passion in Chinese films, the course will investigate the structures of feelings and moral relations in modern Chinese history from the 1940s till the present. Examining the interplay between private desire, romantic sentiment, family relations, and political passion, we will explore how men and women in China grapple with emotional and social issues in modern transformations. We will consider romantic love, the uplifting of sexuality into political passion, the intertwining of aesthetic experience with politics, nostalgia in the disenchanted modern world, and the tensions between the individual¿s self-realization and the community¿s agenda. Students will learn to ¿read¿ films as a work of art and understand how film works as expression of desire, impulse, emotional connections, and communal bonding during times of crisis. Course work includes a midterm exam (25%) and a final exam (25%), a weekly 250-300 word reflection on the film of the week (10%), participation and oral presentation in class (10%), and a paper of 5-7 pages to be submitted after the midterm week (30%).nStarting from the second week, film screening will begin 6: 30 pm Monday before classes on Tuesday and Thursday. The course does not encourage private viewing. At least 5 dinners will be provided for movie-screening events.

This winter Stanford students in any discipline are invited to enroll in an experimental, 2-unit course that will put us in conversation with undergraduate students at the University of Wuerzberg, Germany and at UC Merced. We will be going through a common reading list and blogging with each other across the Stanford-based TeachingHumanRights.org website. The course will be led by Professors Heike Raphael-Hernandez at Wuerzberg, Nigel Hatton at UCM, and David Palumbo-Liu at Stanford. We will be reading texts on human rights, with a focus on race. Besides blogging together, we will create live chats. This is an absolutely unique chance to engage in an international discussion on rights and race, with invaluable perspectives shared beyond the physical classroom and national boundaries.