COMPARATIVE LITERATURE (BI-CO) - Haverford College Catalog
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Comparative Literature (Bi-Co) 1
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE • bring together and analyze critically, in light of
certain central issues and themes, a selection
(BI-CO) of works of literature and criticism read over
the four years.
Department Website: Haverford’s Institutional Learning Goals are
https://www.haverford.edu/comparative-literature available on the President’s website, at http://hav.to/
learninggoals.
Comparative Literature is a joint Bryn Mawr and
Haverford program that draws on the diverse
teaching and research interests of the faculty at the
Curriculum
two colleges, especially but not exclusively those in The resources at Bryn Mawr and Haverford permit
our many departments of language and literature. the Comparative Literature program to offer an
extensive variety of courses, including:
The study of Comparative Literature situates
literature in an international perspective; examines • literature courses in English and the other
transnational cultural connections through literary languages offered at the two Colleges (Spanish,
history, literary criticism, critical theory, and poetics; French, German, Italian, Russian, Latin, ancient
and works toward a nuanced understanding of Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and Hebrew).
the socio-cultural functions of literature. The close • crosslisted comparative electives taught in
reading of literary texts and other works from English.
different cultures and periods is fundamental to our • courses in criticism and theory.
enterprise.
Interpretive methods from other disciplines that
Major
interrogate cultural discourses also play a role in the We require comparative literature students to have
comparative study of literature; among these are a reading knowledge of at least one language other
anthropology, philosophy, religion, history, music, than English, adequate to the advanced study of
the history of art, visual studies, film studies, gender literature in that language. Some comparative
studies, and area studies (including Africana studies, literature courses may require reading knowledge in
Latin American and Iberian studies, and East Asian the language as a prerequisite for admission.
studies). Students interested in pursuing a comparative
Our students have gone on to do graduate work in literature major should discuss their preparation and
comparative literature and related fields; pursued program of courses with the comparative literature
advanced degrees in business, law, medicine, and chair early in their first or second year at the College.
journalism; and undertaken careers in translation, We recommend (but do not require) that:
publishing, international business, diplomacy, and
non-governmental organizations. • majors study abroad during one or two semesters
of the junior year.
Learning Goals • students with a possible interest in graduate
• Students should attain advanced skills in a school begin a second foreign language before
language other than English and show the they graduate.
capacity to analyze and interpret literary and
cultural texts in the original language. Major Requirements
• Students should attain advanced skills in the • COML H200 or COML B200 (Introduction to
interpretation or translation of the literary texts of Comparative Literature), normally taken by the
two distinct national cultures, in the comparative spring of the sophomore year.
analysis of these texts across national and/ • Six advanced literature courses in the original
or linguistic boundaries, and in addressing, languages (normally at the 200 level or above),
considering, evaluating, and applying specific balanced between two literature departments (of
methodological or theoretical paradigms. which English may be one): at least two (one in
• Students should make use of these skills in the each literature) must be at the 300 level or above,
senior thesis and oral exam, which should also or its equivalent, as approved in advance by the
demonstrate the capacity to: advisor.
• evaluate and discuss the merits of a critical or • One course in critical theory.
methodological approach. • Two electives in comparative literature.
• complete an independent scholarly project. • COML H398 or COML B398 (Theories and Methods
in Comparative Literature).2 Comparative Literature (Bi-Co)
• COML H399 or COML B399 (Senior Seminar in that expresses complex ideas and argues these
Comparative Literature). convincingly, with clarity and precision.
• Familiarize themselves with their chosen texts in
Senior Project the original languages and offer interpretations
Each senior major in comparative literature defines grounded in close reading of these texts.
their thesis topic in consultation with the faculty • Evaluate and discuss the merits of a critical or
members who teach the capstone seminars, COML methodological approach, identify relevant and
398 and COML 399. In the fall semester, as they near generative theoretical frameworks, understand
completion of COML 398, students produce a viable the tradition from which they derive, and
prospectus in the form of an essay with bibliography. competently incorporate them in the service of a
During the spring semester, students enrolled in critical question.
the Senior Seminar (COMLL 399) complete a senior • Critique and evaluate scholarship relevant to their
thesis of 35-40 pages, under the joint guidance of own scholarly project.
one of the instructors in COML 399 and a faculty • Comment on or critique the research projects of
member with expertise in the topic of the thesis. fellow senior seminar participants.
The thesis should build on languages, literary and • Bring together and analyze critically, in light of
cultural interests, and competencies cultivated in certain central issues and themes, a selection of
coursework at Bryn Mawr and Haverford or abroad, works of literature and criticism read over the past
should be broadly comparative in nature, and should four years.
normally deal with works in both of the student’s • Make responsible use of both primary and
major languages. Possible models include: a study secondary sources.
of a critical issue as exemplified in authors or works • Make effective use of library resources, including
from two different literary or linguistic traditions; subject-specific databases and indices online and
an exploration of transnational issues in different in print
media; a critical examination of a problem in literary
or cultural theory or literary history; a critical Senior Project Assessment
examination of different translations of a literary Faculty in the Comparative Literature Steering
work. Committee (CLSC) evaluate the viability of the
thesis prospectus, submitted in COML 398. Student
At the end of the spring semester, during the
performance evaluations in all the assessment
senior exams period, all seniors are required to
categories mentioned below inform the final grades
participate in senior oral exams before a panel of
awarded in COML 399 as well as the awarding of
three faculty examiners—the two thesis co-advisors
honors in the major and of the departmental prize for
plus a member of the Comparative Literature
the most accomplished senior essay. The examiners
Steering Committee or other relevant faculty
are drawn from faculty members teaching COML
member. Students respond to questions about
399, members of the CLSC, and other colleagues
the senior thesis during the first half of the exam
in other relevant disciplines. Examiners (three per
(approximately 20 minutes); during the second half
student) participate in the required senior oral
(another 25 minutes or so) they answer questions
examination and make the final evaluations of
about a list of texts and topics they have submitted
the second semester senior capstone experience.
in advance. (These texts, which may include films
Separate grades are given for the senior essay,
and works of art, are chosen by each student from
seminar performance, and oral exam; the final
primary and secondary sources that they have
grade in COML 399 reflects the totality of the senior
studied in courses that count toward the major, with
experience in all categories stated, with the most
no more than two texts from a single class.)
important element being the senior thesis.
To get a sense of the kinds of projects our majors
The thesis is evaluated on the following criteria:
elect to pursue, please visit the Senior Thesis archive
linked on our homepage. • Conceptualization of an original research question
• Familiarity with and well-grounded interpretation
Senior Project Learning Goals
of primary texts in the original languages.
In the process of writing the senior thesis and
• Engagement with chosen theoretical framework
preparing for the oral exam, students should develop
or frameworks and with relevant secondary
and demonstrate the capacity to:
literature.
• Complete an independent scholarly project in • Successful revision in response to criticism.
the form of a senior thesis (35-40 pages) that
has a logical and clear overall structure andComparative Literature (Bi-Co) 3
• Crafting of a clearly structured and clearly Associate Professor and Chair of German
expressed argument.
Roberto Castillo Sandoval
Requirements for Honors Professor of Spanish
Students who, in the judgment of the Comparative Maud McInerney
Literature Steering Committee, have done The Laurie Ann Levin Professor of Comparative
distinguished work in their comparative literature Literature; Professor of English; Chair of Comparative
courses and in the Senior Seminar will be considered Literature
for departmental honors.
Jerry Miller
Minor Requirements Associate Professor of Philosophy
Requirements for the minor are COML 200 and COML Deborah Roberts
398, plus four additional courses—two each in the Professor Emeritus of Classics
literature of two languages. At least one of these
four courses must be at the 300 level. Students who David Sedley
minor in comparative literature are encouraged to Professor of French and Francophone Studies
choose their national literature courses from those
with a comparative component. Steering Committee Members at Bryn Mawr
Edwige Crucifix
NOTE: Both majors and minors should work closely Assistant Professor of French and Francophone
with the co-chairs of the program and with members Studies
of the steering committee in shaping their programs.
Martín Gaspar
Study Abroad Associate Professor of Spanish
The majority of our majors study abroad for one Alessandro Giammei
semester or two, normally during the junior year, at Assistant Professor of Italian
programs approved by Bryn Mawr and Haverford.
We ask our students to confer with the chair of the Jennifer Harford Vargas
relevant language department as well as the chair Associate Professor of English and Co-Director of the
of Comparative Literature in advance when choosing Latin American, Latina/o and Iberian Studies Program
courses abroad in order to determine which courses
Tim Harte
may be counted towards the major, and which kind
Provost and Professor of Russian
of credit (i.e. 200-level or 300-level) should be given
for a particular course although we strongly advise Shiamin Kwa
that the 300-level courses be taken within the Bi-Co. Co-Chair and Associate Professor of East Asian
The course in critical theory must be taken within the Languages and Cultures
Tri-Co.
María Cristina Quintero
Prizes Fairbank Professor in the Humanities, Professor of
Spanish and Co-Director of Comparative Literature
The Laurie Ann Levin Prize is awarded annually to
the senior major(s) whose work merits recognition Roberta Ricci
for intellectual achievement, as demonstrated in the Professor and Chair of Italian on the Andrew W.
senior thesis. Mellon Foundation Chair in the Humanities
Faculty Azade Seyhan
Two co-chairs, one at each college, and a Bi-College Fairbank Professor Emeritus in the Humanities and
steering committee administer the program. The Research Professor
committee generally includes those faculty members Quinna Shen
most often involved in teaching the introductory Chair and Associate Professor of German
course and the senior seminar.
Many other faculty at both institutions contribute Courses at Haverford
courses to the program; see the Courses section for COML H120 THE EPIC IN ENGLISH (1.0 Credit)
more information. Maud McInerney
Division: Humanities
Steering Committee Members at Haverford Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Imke Brust4 Comparative Literature (Bi-Co)
An exploration of the long narrative poems that The course proposes the study of Latin American
shape the epic tradition in anglophone literature. Jewish literature focusing on narrative, essay, and
Readings in classical epic and medieval epic, Milton, poetry of the Twentieth and Twenty-First centuries.
Romantic epics and the modern aftermath of epic. It pays close attention to themes, registers, and
Crosslisted: English, Comparative Literature cultural contexts relevant to the Jewish experience in
(Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: Every Latin America. What is Jewish about this literature?
Three Years) Where do these texts cross paths, or not, with other
migratory and minority experiences? The texts
COML H142 INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL studied question identity and Otherness, and explore
STUDIES (1.0 Credit) constructions of memory while examining issues of
Christina Knight gender, assimilation, transculturation, migration,
Division: Humanities and exile in relation to the Jewish Diaspora in the
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) Americas. This course is conducted in Spanish.
An introduction to the trans-disciplinary field of Crosslisted: Spanish, Comparative Literature
Visual Studies, its methods of analysis and topical Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102, placement, or instructor
concerns. Traditional media and artifacts of art consent
history and film theory, and also an examination of (Typically offered: Every other Year)
the ubiquity of images of all kinds, their systems
of transmission, their points of consumption, and COML H205 STUDIES IN THE SPANISH
the very limits of visuality itself. Crosslisted: Visual AMERICAN NOVEL (1.0 Credit)
Studies, Fine Arts, Comparative Literature Division: Humanities
(Offered: Fall 2021; typically offered: Every Fall) Investigating the Past in Latin American
Contemporary Narratives. This course examines
COML H200 INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE issues of memory and identity in the context
LITERATURE (1.0 Credit) of personal and national stories/histories. The
Imke Brust course will analyze recently published novels, and
Division: Humanities short stories (including some film adaptations)
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) by representative writers from the region. This
A general introduction to the evolving field of course is conducted in Spanish. Crosslisted: Spanish,
comparative literature. Students read, discuss, Comparative Literature. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102,
and write about texts from across a wide range placement, or consent of the instructor.
of national literatures and historical periods, with (Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: Every
attention both to how these texts influence and other Year)
relate to each other and to where and why they
must differ. An additional focus on theoretical issues COML H210 SPANISH AND SPANISH AMERICAN
relevant to reading in general and, more particularly, FILM STUDIES (1.0 Credit)
reading between canons. Staff
(Typically offered: Every Year) Division: Humanities
Exploration of Latin American film. The course
COML H202 BAWDY BODIES: COMEDIES OF will discuss approximately one movie per week.
THE GROTESQUE IN ANTIQUITY AND THE The class will focus on the analysis of cinematic
RENAISSANCE (1.0 Credit) discourses as well as the films’ cultural and historic
Matthew Farmer background. The course will also provide advanced
Division: Humanities language training with particular emphasis in refining
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) oral and writing skills. This course is conducted
In this course, we will use Bakhtin’s concepts of the in Spanish. Crosslisted: Spanish, Comparative
grotesque and the carnivalesque to interpret the Literature. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102, or placement,
novels of Rabelais and the plays of Shakespeare; or instructor consent.
we will also explore Greek and Roman precedents (Offered: Fall 2021; typically offered: Every Fall)
for the grotesque literature of the Renaissance.
Crosslisted: Classics, Comparative Literature Pre- COML H212 REFASHIONING THE CLASSICS:
requisite(s): First Year Writing VOICING MYTH (1.0 Credit)
(Typically offered: Occasionally) Hannah Silverblank, Robert Barnes
Division: Humanities
COML H203 WRITING THE JEWISH Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
TRAJECTORIES IN LATIN AMERICA (1.0 Credit) This course interrogates the relationships between
Ariana Huberman classical myths and their revoicings. We explore
Division: Humanities various strands of reception theory in order toComparative Literature (Bi-Co) 5
discuss the dynamics between different versions of Division: Humanities
myths, placing emphasis on myths that take voice Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
as a central theme. Crosslisted: Classical Studies, This course proposes a bilingual reading of Miguel
Comparative Literature de Cervantes’ famous novel, El ingenioso hidalgo
(Offered: Fall 2021; typically offered: Every Three don Quijote de la Mancha. Course readings and
Years) discussion will be in English with the option of
reading the novel in Spanish and participating in a
COML H222 RETHINKING LATIN AMERICA IN Spanish-language discussion group for interested
CONTEMPORARY NARRATIVE (1.0 Credit) students. The course will focus on analyzing the
Aurelia Gómez De Unamuno novel’s self-reflexivity and narrative ambiguity as
Division: Humanities well as its depiction of gender, race, and class. We
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: will also study the legacy of Cervantes’ novel and
Analysis of the Social World its influence on subsequent fiction, philosophy,
This course explores literary texts and films music, art and film. This course fulfills the “pre 1898”
produced after the 70s that address political issues requirement. Crosslisted: Spanish, Comparative
related to marginal subjects that previously were Literature.
not visible . The course is organized around different (Offered: Fall 2021; typically offered: Every other
agendas such as “indigenismo”, ethnic politics Year)
and indigenous movements, post-coloniality,
subalternity, sexual diversity, migration and the COML H253 HISPANIC CARIBBEAN MIGRATION
border, drug trafficking, and gender violence. This TALES (1.0 Credit)
course is conducted in Spanish. Crosslisted: Spanish, Lina Martinez Hernandez
Comparative Literature. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102, Division: Humanities
placement, or instructor consent Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
(Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: Every Students will learn about different Hispanic
other Year) Caribbean migratory experiences through a selection
of short stories, novels, memoirs, and essays, as
COML H231 CARIBE QUEER: SEXUALITIES well as in film, and performative production. The
AND NARRATIVES FROM THE HISPANIC texts that will be analyzed are mostly originally
CARIBBEAN (1.0 Credit) written in Spanish. Crosslisted: Spanish, Comparative
Lina Martinez Hernandez Literature Prerequisite(s): SPAN H102 or 200-300
Division: Humanities level in the placement test
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) (Offered: Fall 2021; typically offered:
The course will look at different narrative and artistic Occasionally)
productions regarding alternative sexualities in
the Hispanic Caribbean. We will take as a point of COML H262 TOP GERMAN CINEMA: #METOO
departure the Cuban revolution and move to the WOMEN AND FILM (1.0 Credit)
present. Crosslisted: Spanish, Comparative Literature Imke Brust
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102 Division: Humanities
(Typically offered: Occasionally) Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B:
Analysis of the Social World
COML H233 TOPICS IN CARIBBEAN This course meets twice a week and will either be
LITERATURE: A NEW WAVE (1.0 Credit) taught in English with an extra-session in German or
Asali Solomon in German if all registered students speak German. It
Division: Humanities is the aim of this course to contextualize the #MeToo
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Movement in a transnational U.S. - European context.
Analysis of the Social World We will read a variety of texts and watch selected
This course will focus on authors of the Caribbean European/U.S. films that impacted the historical
and its diaspora, engaging fiction, theory, memoir, relationship between and representation of women
poetry and drama from the mid-twentieth century in film. While this course focuses primarily on
through the present. Core themes will include female directors, our discussion will also include the
migration, class, colonialism, racial identity, gender works of some male directors. Crosslisted: German,
and sexuality. Crosslisted: English, Africana Studies Comparative Literature
(Typically offered: Every other Fall) (Typically offered: Every other Year)
COML H250 QUIXOTIC NARRATIVES (1.0
Credit)
Luis Rodriguez-Rincon6 Comparative Literature (Bi-Co)
COML H274 THE PROBLEM OF EVIL: ANCIENT COML H312A ADV TOPICS FRENCH
ANSWERS TO A DIFFICULT QUESTION (1.0 LITERATURE: LE CINÉMA MILITANT DE RAOUL
Credit) PECK (1.0 Credit)
Charlie Kuper Koffi Anyinefa
Division: Humanities Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
What is evil, and where does it come from? The In the aftermath of the George Floyd killing, Raoul
difficulty of answering these questions is only Peck’s I am not Your Negro was widely watched
matched by their importance to our lived human on campuses across the country. This biopic of
experience. Together we will study a wide range James Baldwin and reflection on anti-Black racism
of texts from Archaic Greece through the early in the US is only one of many films the Haitian-
Middle Ages, and throughout the course, students born filmmaker has released in the past twenty
will be encouraged to consider and reconsider years taking on both historical and contemporary
their own understanding of these urgent issues. No societal issues, from neo-colonialism (Lumumba) and
previous experience in Classics or the ancient world genocide (Sometimes in April) in Africa, to the failure
is required. Crosslisted: COML,RELG. Pre-requisite(s): of international aid to developing countries (Fatal
None Lottery Preference: Ten slots reserved for first Assistance), capitalism (Profit and Nothing But!)
years, preference to Classics majors and minors and, most recently, historical racism and colonialism
(Offered: Fall 2021; typically offered: Only Once) (Exterminate all the Brutes ). In this seminar we
will discuss the wide-ranging questions that Peck
COML H278 BEASTS, HYBRIDS, AND GIANTS: addresses in his oeuvre, paying special attention to
CONFRONTING MONSTERS FROM THE his radical aesthetics. Crosslisted: FREN and COML
PAST (1.0 Credit) (Offered: Fall 2021)
Hannah Silverblank
Division: Humanities COML H312B ADV TOPICS FRENCH LIT:
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) DISCOURS SUR LA TRAITE DES ESCLAVES,
This course investigates the role of the monster — L’ESCLAVAGE ET LEURS ABOLITIONS (1.0
source of horror, of power, of disgust, of humor, and Credit)
sometimes even endearment — in genres ranging David Sedley
from ancient Greek epic and Gothic fiction to science Division: Humanities
fiction and horror cinema. Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
(Typically offered: Occasionally) In this course we will study the transatlantic slave
trade, slavery and their abolitions. Starting with
COML H301 TOPICS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH: PRE- the Code noir – a series of laws regulating slavery
MODERN WOMEN WRITERS (1.0 Credit) in the French colonies, originally passed in 1685
Sarah Watson under Louis XIV and reinforced during the ‘Siècle
Division: Humanities des Lumières’ – we will read our way through the
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) centuries, mixing different media (literary, filmic,
Considers the construction of genders and sexualities museological) by both French and Francophone
in the medieval period. Crosslisted: English, writers, artists and institutions. Crosslisted: FREN and
Comparative Literature COML Prerequisite(s): At least one 200-level course
(Offered: Fall 2021; typically offered: (Offered: Spring 2022)
Occasionally)
COML H320 SPANISH AMERICAN COLONIAL
COML H305 IMAGINING TERESA OF AVILA: HER WRITINGS (1.0 Credit)
NOT-SO-HOLY LIFE AND AFTERLIFE (1.0 Credit) Roberto Castillo Sandoval
Division: Humanities Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) Representative writings from the textual legacy left
This course examines the figure of the Spanish by Spanish discovery, conquest, and colonization
mystic Teresa de Jesus (1515-1582) and how she has of the New World. Emphasis will be placed on the
been imagined and depicted as a symbol of feminism transfiguration of historical and literary genres, and
in Literature and film. The course focuses on her the role of Colonial literature in the formation of
works, as well as fiction, art and film which have Latin-American identity. Readings include Columbus,
drawn from her production, from the Renaissance Bernal Díaz, Gómara, Ercilla, Inca Garcilaso de la
to The Simpsons. Crosslisted: Spanish, Comparative Vega, Cabeza de Vaca, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz,
Literature Prerequisite(s): one 200-level course and Sigüenza y Góngora. This course fulfills the
(Typically offered: Occasionally) “pre-1898” requirement. This course is conducted
in Spanish. Cross-listed: Spanish, ComparativeComparative Literature (Bi-Co) 7
Literature Prerequisite(s): One 200-level Spanish sociology, classics, linguistics, literature (regardless
course or instructor consent of language), and philosophy. Students with previous
(Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: Every engagements with the Hurford Center or with a
other Year) strong interest in arts, religion, and philosophy are
especially encouraged to enroll. In addition, it is
COML H321 TOPICS GERM LIT: THE AGE OF highly desirable that students who enroll in this
GOETHE (1.0 Credit) course have significant knowledge of a non-English
Margaret Strair language so they can draw from other traditions of
Division: Humanities humour. For this reason, it is recommended that
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) students whose primary language is English have at
Crosslisted: German, Comparative Literature least two years of continuous study of a non-English
(Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: Every language or its equivalent; native [and heritage]
Three Years) speakers of a non-English language may be assumed
to meet this recommendation. Those students
COML H322 POLITICS OF MEMORY IN LATIN unsure of their qualification should email Prof. Ha
AMERICA (1.0 Credit) (gha@haverford.edu) for a consultation session.
Aurelia Gómez De Unamuno (Typically offered: Occasionally)
Division: Humanities
This course explores the issue of memory, the COML H381 VISUAL POLITICS OF
narration of political violence and the tension BONDAGE (1.0 Credit)
between truth and fiction. A selection of documents, Division: Humanities
visual archives and documentary films are compared Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
with literary genres including testimonies memories, This course examines the visual politics of literatures
diaries, poetry, and fiction writing. This course also of bondage, focusing on colonial Brazil/Amazon,
compares the coup and dictatorship of Pinochet the cross-temporal Indian Ocean World, and our
with the repression of the student movement of contemporary moment of globalization. Our central
‘68 and the guerrilla warfare in Mexico. This course course inquiry across the course will address the
is conducted in Spanish. Cross-listed: Spanish, visual politics both nascent and full-fleshed in textual
Comparative Literature, PJHR and imagistic representations of those extremely
(Offered: Fall 2021; typically offered: Every Year) uneven power relations definitive of bondage, and
is attentive across genres to the novel, painting,
COML H327 TRAVEL NARRATIVES IN LATIN photography, and film. Cross-listed for English and
AMERICA (1.0 Credit) Visual Arts. Prerequisite(s): Two 200-level courses in
Ariana Huberman English or instructor consent
Division: Humanities (Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: Every
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) Three Years)
This course examines the ideas and impact of
European Travel writers in Latin America and the COML H389 INTERPRETING LYRIC POETRY:
Caribbean. We will discuss the imprint travel writers LOVE, LOSS, TRANSCENDENCE (1.0 Credit)
have left on the literature of Latin America from the Kimberly Benston
seventeenth century to the present. Crosslisted: Division: Humanities
Spanish, Comparative Literature An examination of theoretical issues and
(Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: presentational strategies in verse structures
Occasionally) from Ovid to Bishop. Through close readings of
strategically grouped texts, we explore the interplay
COML H329 HAMDANI: CO-SPIRATION OF THE of convention and innovation, attending to themes
SACRED AND THE SATIRICAL (1.0 Credit) of desire, loss, and transcendence, and to recurrent
Guangtian Ha lyric figures (e.g., in Narcissus, Orphic, and Ulysses
Division: Humanities poems; in the dramatic monologue; in the sonnet
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) and elegy; in the sublime; in vernacular traditions
This course builds on a fourteenth-century Uyghur and their literary revisions). Issues for study
text titled The Contest of the Fruits – a rap battle- include: allusion and intertextuality; convention
style put-down between different fruits – to and cliché; invention and revision; origination and
explore the role of humour and satire in helping self-presentation. Practical criticism will lead to
us think through notions of the sacred. Cross theoretical analyses of interpretive modes and
Listed: Anthropology; Comparative Literature the interpreter’s stance. Crosslisted: English,
Prerequisite(s): At least two 200-level courses in Comparative Literature Prerequisite(s): Two 200-
any of the following areas: religion, anthropology, level English courses or instructor consent8 Comparative Literature (Bi-Co)
(Offered: Fall 2021; typically offered: Every other texts from different historical periods and nations;
Year) translations; and readings in critical theory.
(Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: Every
COML H398 THEORIES AND METHODS IN Fall)
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE (1.0 Credit)
Jerry Miller EALC B212 TOPICS: INTRODUCTION TO
Division: Humanities CHINESE LITERATURE (1.0 Credit)
This course is both a seminar on theory and method Division: Humanities
and a workshop on the deveopment of the senior Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
thesis. It introduces students to a variety of critical This is a topics course. Topics may vary.
approaches and their application, and assists them (Typically offered: Every Year)
in developing conceptual frameworks for the senior
thesis projects they are in the process of formulating. EALC B345 TOPICS IN EAST ASIAN
Prerequisite(s): Open to comparative literature senior CULTURE (1.0 Credit)
majors and minors Yonglin Jiang
(Typically offered: Every Fall) Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
COML H399 SENIOR SEMINAR (1.0 Credit) This is a topics course. Course contents vary.
Maud McInerney (Typically offered: Every Fall)
Division: Humanities
Oral and written presentations of work in progress, ENGL B345 TOPICS IN NARRATIVE
culminating in a senior thesis and comprehensive THEORY (1.0 Credit)
oral examination. Prerequisite(s): students must be Division: Humanities
senior majors in Comparative Literature Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
(Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: Every This is a topics course. Course content varies.
Spring) (Typically offered: Every other Year)
Courses at Bryn Mawr FREN B312 ADVANCED TOPICS IN
LITERATURE (1.0 Credit)
ARCH B303 CLASSICAL BODIES (1.0 Credit) Edwige Crucifix
Alice Donohue Division: Humanities
Division: Humanities Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) This is a topics course. Course content varies.
An examination of the conceptions of the human Prerequisites: two 200-level courses.
body evidenced in Greek and Roman art and (Offered: Fall 2021)
literature, with emphasis on issues that have
persisted in the Western tradition. Topics include the FREN B326 ETUDES AVANCÉES (1.0 Credit)
fashioning of concepts of male and female standards Rudy Le Menthéour
of beauty and their implications; conventions of Division: Humanities
visual representation; the nude; clothing and its Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
symbolism; the athletic ideal; physiognomy; medical An in-depth study of a particular topic, event or
theory and practice; the visible expression of historical figure in French civilization. This is a topics
character and emotions; and the formulation of the course. Course content varies.
“classical ideal” in antiquity and later times. (Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: Every
(Typically offered: Every other Spring) Year)
COML B200 INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE HART B110 CRITICAL APPROACHES TO VISUAL
LITERATURE (1.0 Credit) REPRESENTATION: IDENTIFICATION IN THE
Martín Gaspar CINEMA (1.0 Credit)
Division: Humanities Matthew Feliz
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) Division: Humanities
This course explores a variety of approaches to the Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
comparative or transnational study of literature An introduction to the analysis of film through
through readings of several kinds: texts from particular attention to the role of the spectator.
different cultural traditions that raise questions about Why do moving images compel our fascination?
the nature and function of storytelling and literature; How exactly do film spectators relate to the people,
texts that comment on, respond to, and rewrite other objects, and places that appear on the screen?
Wherein lies the power of images to move, attract,Comparative Literature (Bi-Co) 9 repel, persuade, or transform its viewers? In this course, students will be introduced to film theory through the rich and complex topic of identification. We will explore how points of view are framed in cinema, and how those viewing positions differ from those of still photography, advertising, video games, and other forms of media. Students will be encouraged to consider the role the cinematic medium plays in influencing our experience of a film: how it is not simply a film’s content, but the very form of representation that creates interactions between the spectator and the images on the screen. Film screenings include Psycho, Being John Malkovich, and others. Course is geared to freshman and those with no prior film instruction. Fulfills History of Art major 100-level course requirement, Film Studies minor Introductory course or Theory course requirement. (Offered: Spring 2022; typically offered: Every Spring) ITAL B213 THEORY IN PRACTICE:CRITICAL DISCOURSES IN THE HUMANITIES (1.0 Credit) Daria Bozzato Division: Humanities Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) What is a postcolonial subject, a queer gaze, a feminist manifesto? And how can we use (as readers of texts, art, and films) contemporary studies on animals and cyborgs, object oriented ontology, zombies, storyworlds, neuroaesthetics? In this course we will read some pivotal theoretical texts from different fields, with a focus on raceðnicity and gender&sexuality. Each theory will be paired with a masterpiece from Italian culture (from Renaissance treatises and paintings to stories written under fascism and postwar movies). We will discuss how to apply theory to the practice of interpretation and of academic writing, and how theoretical ideas shaped what we are reading. Class conducted in English, with an additional hour in Italian for students seeking Italian credit. (Offered: Spring 2022)
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