A comparative study of methodological approaches to. Comparative literature recognizes that all literary texts exist within the framework of world cultures and emphasizes the importance of bringing a. Further, comparative literature includes study of historical and contemporary literary theory and criticism. Genre studies is an academic subject which studies genre theory as a branch of general critical theory in several different fields, including the literary or artistic, linguistic, or rhetorical literary genre studies is a structuralist approach to the study of genre and genre theory in literary theory, film theory, and other cultural theories. By comparative, we mean the analytic crossing of national, linguistic, gender, genre, and class boundaries. Comparative literature department of comparative studies. The first issue, published in 1963, was a special advance issue. Genre studies is an academic subject which studies genre theory as a branch of general critical theory in several different fields, including the literary or artistic, linguistic, or rhetorical. Each student in this option is assigned an adviser in comparative literature, and student schedules and courses of study must be approved in writing by the adviser, the chair of undergraduate studies of comparative literature, and the chair of undergraduate studies of the program. Comparative literature analyses the similarities and dissimilarities and parallels between two literatures. Pdf this study focuses on issues such as what comparative literature is or not, how it is. Companion to comparative literature, world literatures. Comparative literature is an interdisciplinary program designed for students who want to pursue the study of literature unrestricted by national boundaries and conventional demarcations of culture.
The crisis of comparative studies occurs as this discipline grows excessively normativised and, instead of getting open toward postcolonial multivoicedness, it. This major new introduction to comparative literature is for the students coming to the subject for the first time. Crosssearch gales literature collections with added search visualization tools. The idea of comparative literature in india deals with how the author conceives of a syllabus containing both cil and cwl.
Comparative literature, cultural studies, world literature, theory, practice. The modern forms are more or less related to the aesthetic elements and comparative study seeks to find out the relations between these elements. Early on, the discipline was anchored in the comparison of literary works from more than one linguistic tradition. Comparative literature complit louisiana state university is an interdisciplinary program that encourages students to approach literary studies from multiple perspectives. This blog is meant as a an academic support as well as a space of interaction for students of comparative literature 3rd year. Program is built around a core curriculum grounded in the history of literary criticism and. Finally, i discuss those aspects of thematology which apply in particular to comparative literature such as terminology trying to reconcile the literary terms used in various countries, cultural contexts orientalism vs. Comparative literature studies was first published in 1963 at the university of maryland at college park by the founding editors, alfred owen aldridge and melvin j.
Chapter ii methodology of the study comparative literature. At brown, the department of comparative literature is distinct in its conviction that literary research and instruction must be international in character. Comparative literature studies publishes comparative critical essays that range across the rich traditions of africa, asia, europe, and north and south america, and that examine the literary relations between east and west, north and south. Genre studies is an academic subject which studies genre theory as a branch of general critical theory in several different fields, including the literary or artistic. Origins and evolution of comparative literature and its.
In 1972 levin, and in 1995 bernheimer, argued that comparative literature did. The paper presents theses for discussion locating some common cultural denominators in view of the interest of the general practitioner of the discipline. Course work done at campuses other than stanfords is counted toward. Gale virtual reference library, literature resource center, literature criticism online, litfinder, mla international bibliography, scribner writers online series, and twaynes authors online. Pdf comparative literature and the question of theory. Pdf gender and genre in comparative literature and. Promote a global and dynamic vision of literary and cultural phenomena. Comparative literature is the more widely used term in the united states, with many universities having comparative literature departments or comparative literature programs. Comparative literature is the study of literature beyond the confines of. It is the only discipline that routinely crosses borders, studies what has come to be called the construction of the other in all its guises, and is concerned with both literary and social relations between societies.
Comparative literature encourages time abroad, both for increased pro ficiency in language and the opportunity for advanced course work. In this respect, students are invited to refer to this electronic resource as a pedagogical complement for the courses provided in the classroom. Comparative literature studies linkedin slideshare. Gender and genre in comparative literature and comparative. Today, american scholars carve out from texts special angles pointing not inwards but outwards, toward other, prevalently nonaesthetic disciplines political, ethnic, racial, genderandsex related, etc. Gender and genre in comparative literature and comparative cultural studies. Preprints and earlystage research may not have been peer. Towards the inclusion of interethnic studies in comparative literature in china xiaoqing han and aaron l. Comparative literature is also closely related to cultural studies, a field that looks at the ways in which culture on a broad scale impacts human experience, often by studying works of literature. Schematized, the strains which the widening of the perimeters of comparative literature has been causing among comparatists stem, i would submit, from the centrifugal pull of two basic orientations. Literary studies with comparative cult ural approaches to the. Comparative literature and the genres of interdisciplinarity. Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. How to read donald duck was written by a ariel dorfman and armand mattelart b octavio paz and muriel spark c walt disney d che guevara 9.
Literary studies with comparative cultural approaches to the. Comparative literature literature courses selected in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies, one foundational course in comparative literary theory and methodology, two courses in literary theory, methods, or special topics in comparative literature, and a ba thesis workshop that serves as a capstone to the major. This is a kind of coordination which seeks resemblance in some respects. The simple way to define comparative literature is to say that it is a comparison between the two literatures. Speaking elaborately on the syllabi, it may be necessary to make a clearer distinction between introduction to cl and problems of cl. Comparative literature program lsu program in comparative literature an overview comparative literature at louisiana state university is an interdisciplinary program that encourages students to approach literary studies from multiple perspectives. Demonstrate superior linguistic and cultural literacy in french as well as across national and disciplinary boundaries so as to meet the standards of the journals in french studies, comparative literature, and related fields.
Literary genre studies is a structuralist approach to the study of genre and genre theory in literary theory, film theory, and other cultural theories. Comparative literature 1 comparative literature chair marc redfield comparative literature is the study of literature and other cultural expressions across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Many theories of translation derive from scholars who also work in comparative literature, and indeed, at many institutions, comparative literature and. When comparative literature becomes cultural studies. Genre, movements and periods are also equally important place in studies of comparative literature. Through thoughtful engagement with works of literature from in two or more languages, comparative literature majors also learn how to think critically. Many theories of translation derive from scholars who also work in comparative literature, and indeed, at many institutions, comparative literature and translation studies are housed within a single program. The purpose of such study is to discover the common areas among the various literatures. Literature is the cultural production that articulates these crossings in written language. Sometimes, you might be interested on criticism on a literary genre or theme, rather than a particular work. The field of comparative literature also endeavors, then, to overcome this division between the west and the rest by combining the formal rigor of european literary studies with the interdisciplinary reach of area studies. The definition of comparative literature given by bijay kumar dass is very simple vivid and understandable. Themes and genres comparative literature research guide. Comparative literature is the laboratory or workshop of literary studies, and through them, of the humanities.
Perspectives on comparative literature lsu digital commons. The comparative literature major aims to provide students with an appreciation of literature as a form of knowledge and understanding from which they can derive both pleasure and instruction. This is a useful distinction so long as we recognize that the concept of national literature is not without its problems, and that the two kinds of study must, inevitably, shade into one another. Four courses in literary study, each originating in comparative literature or bearing a crosslist number. Our discipline takes a transnational, translinguistic, transcultural and transmedial approach to analysis. The normal preparation for graduate study in comparative literature and cultural studies is an undergraduate degree in world languages, english, or a related field in the humanities and the social sciences.
Proseminar in comparative literature taken first term offered b. Comparative literature is a center towards which the intellectually adventurous gravitate. So things like characterisation, symbolism, stage directions, music and sound effects, setlocations, props, dialogue, flashbackflashforward the list pretty much goes on and on. Pdf comparative literature an overview researchgate. Catcomparativeliteraturephd stony brook university.
Like all other concentrations in comparative studies, this concentration allows students, with the help of their advisers, to design a course of study that suits their particular interests. The terms comparative literature and world literature are often used to designate a similar course of study and scholarship. Comparative literature performs a role similar to that of the study of international relations, but works with languages and artistic traditions, so as to understand cultures from the inside. Comparative literature, dance, drama, english, gender studies, irish studies, scholarly communications, theatre, womens studies suggested reference works the johns hopkins guide to literary theory and criticism by michael groden editor. Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature courses of study bulletin 20192020. Comparative literature examines translation as an interpretive act central to the history and practice of literary study. Admission to the master of arts degree in comparative literature and cultural studies. Historically, it is true that comparative literature demonstrated a focus on european literatures and later on european and.
This study focuses on issues such as what comparative literature is or not, how it is perceived today, what its benefits are, what kinds of mistakes are made in theory and practice in comparisons. One course in pre1800 literature, one in pre1900 literature. Comparative literature compares literatures, not only as accumulations of primary works, but as the languages, cultures, histories, traditions, theories, and practices with which those works come. Open to upperdivision comparative literature and cinema studies majors. Comparative literature is the study of national literatures in relation to each other. Students of comparative literature trace the transformations and travels of literary genres and texts across. Companion to comparative literature, world literatures, and. Articles may also explore movements, themes, forms, the history of ideas, relations between. Comparative literature is an interdisciplinary field whose practitioners study literature across national borders, across time periods, across languages, across genres, across. Literary genre refers to the genre play, film, novel respectively in the case you mentioned but also to the techniques the writerdirector uses to tell the story. Unlike other national literature departments, comparative literature is committed to crosscultural, transnational studies.
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