2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024
Browse
by subject...
    Schedule
view...
 

251 - 260 of 976 results for: all courses

COMPLIT 178: Metamorphosis and Desire: Spenser, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Milton

A recurring motif in the myths of poetry's origins is a metamorphosis provoked by erotic desire, from the nymph Daphne transformed into a laurel tree as she escapes the god Apollo to the bard Orpheus dismembered by impassioned Maenads. This course explores the entanglement of these themes in Renaissance verse across plays by Shakespeare, epic poetry by Spenser and Milton, and narrative poems by Marlowe, Shakespeare, and their contemporaries in continental Europe. We will situate these works amid critical perspectives on desire, love, and gendered subjectivity in early modernity and against the classical background of Ovid's 'Metamorphoses', whose tales of eroticism and transformation shaped so much of Renaissance literary and artistic production.
Terms: Win | Units: 1-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
Instructors: Fenech, N. (PI)

COMPLIT 179: Rumi: Rhythms of Creation (COMPLIT 249)

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the thought, poetics, and legacy of one of the towering figures of Persian letters, Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273). After discussing the literary ancestors (Sana'i, `Attar), we will trace the mystico-philosophical foundations of Rumi's thought through close readings of the lyrical (Divan-e Shams) and narrative poems (Mathnavi-ye ma`navi), the prose works (Fihe ma fihe), and the letters. Literary analyses will be followed by an exploration of music as a structuring principle in Rumi's work and the role of sama` (spiritual audition) as a poetic practice. From there, we will look at the ritual and symbolism of the dervish dance, the foundation of the Mevlevi order, the interconnectedness of space (architecture) and poetic form that is exemplified in the Mevlevi dervish lodges, and the literary and philosophical echoes of Rumi in Ottoman culture, above all Seyh Galip's masterpiece Hüsn ü Ask (1782). The course will be complemented by digressions on Rumi in contemporary Persian and Turkish music, including live musical performances. Open to undergraduates and graduates. Taught in English.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II

COMPLIT 181: Philosophy and Literature (CLASSICS 42, ENGLISH 81, FRENCH 181, GERMAN 181, ILAC 181, ITALIAN 181, PHIL 81, SLAVIC 181)

What, if anything, does reading literature do for our lives? What can literature offer that other forms of writing cannot? Can fictions teach us anything? Can they make people more moral? Why do we take pleasure in tragic stories? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. It addresses key questions about the value of literature, philosophical puzzles about the nature of fiction and literary language, and ways that philosophy and literature interact. Readings span literature, film, and philosophical theories of art. Authors may include Sophocles, Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Proust, Woolf, Walton, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Students master close reading techniques and philosophical analysis, and write papers combining the two. This is the required gateway course for the Philosophy and Literature major tracks. Majors should register in their home department.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

COMPLIT 184: READING RUMI

Introduction to the work of Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273) in the original Persian. Through close readings of the poems and prose texts we will explore the ways in which Rumi's thought informs his poetic language and continues to resonate with us today. Topics to be touched upon in connection with the primary texts include: Islamic philosophy; theories of literature in the Arabo-Persian world; poetic genres in medieval Persian literature; meter, rhyme, and metaphor; and, finally, fundamental questions of translation and translatability. Special emphasis will be placed on understanding Rumi within the historical context. Readings in Persian. Two years of Persian at Stanford or equivalent required. Counts for the Persian track in the MELLAC minor.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II

COMPLIT 188: In Search of the Holy Grail: Percival's Quest in Medieval Literature (COMPLIT 388, GERMAN 188, GERMAN 388)

This course focuses on one of the most famous inventions of the Middle Ages: the Holy Grail. The grail - a mysterious vessel with supernatural properties - is first mentioned in Chrétien de Troyes' "Perceval," but the story is soon rewritten by authors who alter the meaning of both the grail and the quest. By reading three different versions, we will explore how they respond differently to major topics in medieval culture and relevant to today: romantic love, family ties, education, moral guilt, and spiritual practice. The texts are: Chrétien de Troyes' "Perceval," Wolfram von Eschenbach's "Parzival," and the anonymous "Queste del Saint Graal." All readings will be available in English.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
Instructors: Starkey, K. (PI)

COMPLIT 199: Senior Seminar

What is criticism? When we interpret literature today, are we fulfilling the critical vocation? What are the alternatives? We consider the origins of the idea of the critic in nineteenth-century culture, its development in the twentieth century, and its current exponents, revisionists, and dissenters. Senior seminar for Comparative Literature Senior majors only.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: Saldivar, J. (PI)

COMPLIT 207: Why is Climate Change Un-believable? Interdisciplinary Approaches to Environmental Action

The science is there. The evidence is there. Why do people still refuse to recognize one of the greatest threats to human existence? Why can't, why won't they believe the truth? The time to act is slowly evaporating before our eyes. To answer this question requires an interdisciplinary approach that investigates many of the ways global warming has been analyzed, imagined, represented, and evaluated. Thus we welcome students of any major willing to embark on this common project and to participate fully. We will challenge ourselves to move between and amongst texts that are familiar and those we will bring into the conversation. There will be much that we miss, but we hope this course will at least begin a serious conversation in a unique way. The course will run on two parallel tracks on the one hand, we will delve into textual representations and arguments; on the other hand, we will attempt to develop a sensibility for how climate change makes itself manifest in the physical world through a series of workshops and site visits in the Bay Area. The first track of this course will center on the discussion of three science fiction novels: The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh, The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. The second track of this course is comprised of a series of workshops that aims to develop spatial and material literacy relevant to climate change awareness. It will engage topics such as: scale, atmosphere, measure, material reciprocity, and garbage repurposing. One of the primary goals of this course is to not only understand the problem of climate change, but also how to best act upon it. Thus the required final assignment for this class can be a recommendation for action based on a critical review of the topic of climate change and already existing activism. It can take the form of a paper, a video, an installation art project, a podcast, etc.. But in all cases your work must analytically engage the specific medium of literary expression.
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II

COMPLIT 208: The Cosmopolitan Introvert: Modern Greek Poetry and its Itinerants

Overview of the last century of Greek poetry with emphasis on modernism. Approximately 20 modern Greek poets (starting with Cavafy and Nobel laureates Seferis and Elytis and moving to more modern writers) are read and compared to other major European and American writers. The themes of the cosmopolitan itinerant and of the introvert, often co-existing in the same poet, connect these idiosyncratic voices. The course uses translations and requires no knowledge of Greek but original texts can also be shared with interested students. Note: The course is open to both undergraduate and graduate students
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II

COMPLIT 220: Renaissance Africa (AFRICAST 220E, ILAC 220E, ILAC 320E)

Literature and Portuguese expansion into Africa during the sixteenth century. Emphasis on forms of exchange between Portuguese and Africans in Morocco, Angola/Congo, South Africa, the Swahili Coast, and Ethiopia. Readings in Portuguese and English. Taught in English.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
Instructors: Barletta, V. (PI)

COMPLIT 222A: Myth and Modernity (GERMAN 222, GERMAN 322, JEWISHST 242G, JEWISHST 342)

Masters of German 20th- and 21st-Century literature and philosophy as they present aesthetic innovation and confront the challenges of modern technology, social alienation, manmade catastrophes, and imagine the future. Readings include Nietzsche, Freud, Rilke, Musil, Brecht, Kafka, Doeblin, Benjamin, Juenger, Arendt, Musil, Mann, Adorno, Celan, Grass, Bachmann, Bernhardt, Wolf, and Kluge. Taught in English. Note for German Studies grad students: GERMAN 322 will fulfill the grad core requirement since GERMAN 332 is not being offered this year. NOTE: Enrollment requires Professor Eshel's consent. Please contact him directly at eshel@stanford.edu and answer these 2 questions: "Why do you want to take this course?" and "What do you think you can add to the discussion?" Applications will be considered in the order in which they were received. Enrollment is limited to 20 students.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
Instructors: Eshel, A. (PI)
Filter Results:
term offered
updating results...
teaching presence
updating results...
number of units
updating results...
time offered
updating results...
days
updating results...
UG Requirements (GERs)
updating results...
component
updating results...
career
updating results...
© Stanford University | Terms of Use | Copyright Complaints