Registry

Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2012 - 2013
Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title	Comparative Literature: Introduction
Module Code	LC561
School	SALIS
Online Module Resources
Module Teacher	Barbara Freitag
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	10
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

Description

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to the history and critical theories of comparative literature, to present them with authors/artists of different eras and cultures in order to develop an ability to research in parallel texts from different origins, and/or disciplinary contexts. Students are expected to attend lectures, contribute to seminars and to engage in online-learning activities on a regular basis.

Learning Outcomes

1. Outline the history of comparative literature
2. Recognise the critical theories pertaining to comparative literature, such as reception, imagology or geocriticism
3. Contrast the various debates within and around comparative literature
4. Examine general critical works and literary theories relevant to Comparative literature
5. Analyse and illustrate the relationship between literature and the other arts
6. Investigate the interdisciplinary nature of literature
7. Identify the intercultural and supranational aspects of literature

Workload	Full-time hours per semester
*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Lecture	24	Attendance of course seminars
Independent learning time	48	Preparation of seminars
Moodle discussion	48	Seminar-related debates
Independent learning	72	Reading time related to new concepts/authors. Writing summaries of related articles taken from relevant DCU databses/critics
Assignment	58	Preparation and writing of final essay topic
Total Workload: 250

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Comparative literature: history and theory – a general introduction.
In this seminar, students find out about the history of the discipline and discuss the question of the very nature of literature..

Research tools.
In this workshop, students explore various research and working tools, such as Moodle, CLCWeb, and DCU library databases..

Reception.
The theory of Reception is examined since its first appearance in the 1950s. It is illustrated through a group discussion on two short stories, one by Gustave Flaubert and the other by Elizabeth Bowen..

Intertextuality.
The theory of intertextuality and its relevance to comparative matters are presented and discussed through the works of Roland Barthes, Julia Kristeva, Gérard Genette, Michael Riffaterre and Mikhail Bakhtin..

Imagology.
An important aspect of comparative literary studies is that of stereotypes. Imagology, also known as Intercultural Hermeneutics, analyses auto- and hetero-images, perceptions and representations of self and of 'others' in the literary text..

Geocriticism.
On the one hand, there is space in literature, and on the other, there is literature in space – what some critics have called literary cartography or literary geography. Bertrand Westphal's Geocriticism theory allows to analyse space in itself, how it is constructed, to what effect..

Artistic movements.
Artistic movements play an important part in the meeting of cultures, in the spreading of ideas, artistic and otherwise. We examine here Expressionism and Surrealism..

Literary theory.
Different schools of thought have influenced the art of literary criticism over the last century. We discuss the relevance of some of them (Foucault, feminism, postcolonialism...) as they apply to comparative literature..

Essay-writing workshop.
With this workshop we re-visit academic writing and we examine the methods pertaining to satisfactory comparative essay-writing..

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	100%	Examination Weight	0%

Course Work Breakdown
Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assignment	Essay on a fixed topic	100%	Sem 1 End

Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Bernheimer, Charles (ed.): 1994, Comparative Literature in the Age of Multiculturalism,, The John Hopkins UP,
Kushner, Eva: 2001, The Living Prism: Itineraries in Comparative Literature, McGill-Queens UP,
Saussy, Haun (ed.): 2006, Comparative Literature in an Age of Globalization, The Johns Hopkins UP,
Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven, Milan V. Dimic and Irene Sywenky (eds.): 1999, Comparative Literature Now: Theories and Practice, Honoré Champion,
Thomsen, Mads Rosendahl: 2008, Mapping World Literature: international canonization and transnational literatures, Continuum,
Casanova, Pascale: 2007, The World Republic of Letters, Harvard UP,
Duangsamosorn, Suthira (ed.): 2005, Re-imagining Language and Literature for the 21st century, TexTxeT Studies in Comparative Literature 49, Rodopi,
Danaher, Geoff, Schirato, Tony & Webb, Jen: 2000, Understanding Foucault, Sage,
Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty: 2003, Death of a Discipline, Columbia UP,
Todorov, Tzvetan: 1990, Genres in discourse (Genres du discours), Cambridge UP,
Worton, Michael & Still, Judith (eds.): 1990, Intertextuality: Theories and Practices, Manchester UP,
Braida, Antonella & Cale, Luisa (eds.): 2007, Dante on View: the Reception of Dante in the visual and performing arts, Ashgate,
Barfoot, C.C. (ed.): 1997, Beyond Pugs Tour: National and Ethnic Stereotyping in Theory and Literary Practice, Rodopi,
Dyserinck, Hugo (ed.): 1991, Komparatistik: eine Einfuhrung 3, Aachener Beiträge zur Komparatistik, Bouvier,
Beller, Manfred, & Leerssen, Joep: 2007, Imagology: the cultural construction and literary representation of national characters. A critical survey, Studia imagologica 13, Rodopi,