LIT 295 - Special Topics in Literature in Translation

Credits: 3-4 Prerequisite: Completion of FDR FW writing requirement. A selected topic focusing on a particular author, genre, motif or period in translation. The specific topic is determined by the interests of the individual instructor. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Spring 2021, LIT 295-01: Special Topics in Literature in Translation: The Medieval Epic: From Beowulf to Game of Thrones (3). Prerequisite: Completion of FDR-FW writing requirement. The medieval epic celebrates warrior culture and the values that enhance clan loyalty, group cohesion, the defeat of enemies, the expansion and defense of territory, and the prosperity of families and kingdoms. Modern versions of the medieval epic retain some of these values, discard others and introduce new concerns. To understand this transformative process, we study and discuss Beowulf, Song of Roland, and Poem of the Cid in modern English and compare them to contemporary film versions. Students write epic narratives of the popular epic cycles of their choosing, such as Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. (HL) Bailey. 

Spring 2021, LIT 295-02: Special Topics in Literature in Translation: Fairy Tales through Pop Culture: Grimm, Disney, and Internet Fan Fiction​ (3). Prerequisite: Completion of FDR-FW requirement. During the nineteenth century, several landmark folktale collections were produced—the most influential of which was arguably the Grimms’ Children’s and Household Tales. Throughout this edition, what constitutes a fairytale is quite clear: step-mothers are wicked, princes are heroic, the evil are punished, and the good are rewarded with happiness and prosperity. Yet as times change, do these black-and-white conceptions of the fairytale hold up with them? In this course we will explore questions of the role of the fairy tale as a cultural and social artifact. While these tales grew in popularity during the nineteenth century, they have continually been adapted and changed by others. We have experienced these tales in a variety of ways from the written word to the theater, cinema, television, and more recently to the world of Internet fan fiction where social commentary and fairy tale adaptation by amateur writers flourishes. In this course, we will focus on the evolving nature of the fairytale and their audiences by investigating links between the classic Grimm tales and their pop culture adaptations in film, novels, and internet fan fiction and how those adaptations and evolutions highlight changing historical, cultural, and socio-political contexts in which the adaptations emerge. (HL) Roots.

Spring 2021, LIT 295-03: Special Topics in Literature in Translation: Vampires, Spirits and Other Friendly Creatures: An incursion into East European Prose, Theater and Film (3). Prerequisite: Completion of FDR-FW requirement. An exploration of the fantastic and the supernatural in several works of literature, theater, and film by East European writers and film makers. The course deconstructs Western projections of vampiric presences and other such supernatural creatures onto East European cultures and focuses on several works of literature and film from Eastern Europe and about Eastern Europe. Weekly film screenings. Assignments vary from reaction essays to research papers to creative writing and performances. (HL) Radulescu.

Spring 2021, LIT 295-04: Special Topics in Literature in Translation: Gender and Race in Latin America Literature and Film (3). Prerequisite: Completion of FDR-FW requirement. In this class, students will examine the intersection of gender and race as represented in Latin American film and literature (narrative fiction and poetry). Considering the complexities of both Latin America and of the concepts of race and gender, the course will focus on the Latin American African diaspora to address the following key issues: slavery and its legacies; the symbolic representation and self-representation of Afro-Latin Americans in literature and film; Afro-Latin Americans’ cultural-political activism, among others. (HL) Pinto-Bailey. FDR: HL