CMLIT

Bibliography, research methods, and studies in comparative literature.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Issues in literary criticism from Plato and Aristotle to the mid-eighteenth century.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Principles and theories of literary criticism from eighteenth- and nineteenth- century beginnings to twentieth-century expansion and application.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

The concept of genre and the evolution of genre theory; application to a specific genre, e.g., the lyric or the novel.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Comparative approaches to cohesive units within literary history, e.g., the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Surrealism.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Comparative approaches to recurrent literary themes and motifs; application to a specific example, e.g., literary Utopias or the Faust theme.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Theoretical and practical concepts in the comparative, global history of poetry and/or poetics. CMLIT 507 Comparative Poetics (3 per semester/maximum of 6) This course explores theoretical and practical concepts in the history of poetry and/or poetics. Like all comparative literature courses, it pursues its task through discussions of texts from a wide variety of national or linguistic origins and ranges widely across historical period, medium, and social form, where appropriate. Students will develop a broad array of interpretive skills appropriate to poetry and poetics; they will acquire a knowledge of a wide variety of poetic forms; they will undertake comparative analyses of poems and poetic structures; they will learn how to think about poetics outside poetry.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Comparative study of transnational forms of visual cultural production; e.g. new media, cinema, television, public culture.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Aesthetic and historical development of Modernism in diverse cultures.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Theories of translation and interpretation; importance of translation in literary transmission; application of theoretical concepts to individual translation projects.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This course is a professional development seminar that prepares graduate students to contribute professionally to the advancement of teaching global and world literature courses at the college and university level. We will investigate the range of global literatures and consider the term "world literature" in two senses: (a) discerning the theories and meanings inherent in the concept and (b) charting the scope of a world of literature that can fit into one semester within specific institutional expectations. We will discuss the challenges and opportunities inherent in teaching works that are written in a variety of languages, come from a wide range of temporal periods and diverse cultural settings, reflect or provide alternatives to international canons, rely upon varying assumptions and ideologies, and demonstrate different relations to translation, literacy, visuality, orality, and performance. Students will become acquainted with aspects of learning theory and research questions as well as with professional resources such as conferences and journals in this field. We will theorize and explore concrete matters such as teaching within different institutional settings and delivery modes (including online), determining learning objectives and assessment instruments, crafting a syllabus, designing lesson plans, and selecting instructional materials including OER (Open Educational Resources) and other alternatives to expensive textbooks in relation to issues of equity and access. Throughout, we will focus on student learning, on creating an inclusive instructional environment, and on professional ethics as involved in the ways we teach literature. The course is intended to strengthen graduate students' abilities and confidence as teachers now, and their readiness for professional scholarship and for the academic job market later (most faculty jobs in literature are at teaching-focused institutions). We will also consider career diversity: since professional careers other than faculty appointments can often include forms of teaching, aspects of this course may be useful for other career options too.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Comparative topics presenting literary works of the Americas--North America, South America, and the Caribbean--from early to present times. CMLIT 521 CMLIT 521 Comparative Seminar in Inter-American Literatures (1-12)This course forms one series of three new-course proposals for seminars in comparative literature with a focus on various parts of the world. While existing seminars focus on comparative studies organized according to concepts such as literary theory, period, theme, or genre, through the proposed new seminars the Department of Comparative Literature seeks to provide visibility for the full complement of courses that reflect the department's global perspective. These proposals also respond to the College's policy to avoid repeated use of the 597 number for similar subject-matter. Thus we are proposing three separate comparative courses on Asian, African, and Inter-American literatures. All represent subject-matter previously taught as CMLIT 597 or other less clearly defined CMLIT numbers.Comparative study of Inter-American literatures is an important part of the curriculum of our Comparative Literature Department. It is a field of study identified as one of our specialties in our recent strategic plans. Joining existing graduate seminars in European literatures, and supplementing proposed seminars in African and Asian literatures, this course and the other two new graduate courses now being proposed will make visible the ways in which the departmental curriculum to covers the diverse geographic areas relevant to comparative literary study.Our department has long taught 100-level and 400-level courses on Inter-American Literature. We believe that we were the first U.S. university to have created such courses some twenty-five years ago. Many of our graduate students possess appropriate languages (such as Spanish, Portuguese, and French) necessary for study in this field.The Americas as two joined continents have produced thousands of writers and a highly diverse literature written in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and other languages, including Native American languages. A comparative approach to the study of these literatures provides an appropriately internationalized context for understanding the relations among various literatures of the Americas and for seeing them in the purview of world literature as a whole.In sum, we have long had separate numbers for our undergraduate Inter-American Literature courses and we have previously offered graduate Inter-American courses under general numbers. In addition to complying with College policy and not continuing to use 597 repeatedly, we wish to make this field more visible within our curriculum by giving it a course number of its own.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

12

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Comparative topics presenting literary works of Asia, from the origins of literature in Asia to the present time. CMLIT 522 CMLIT 522 Comparative Seminar in Asian Literatures (1-12)This course forms one of a series of three new-course proposals for seminars in comparative literature with a focus on various parts of the world. While existing seminars focus on comparative studies organized according to concepts such as literary theory, period, theme, or genre, through the proposed new seminars the Department of Comparative Literature seeks to provide visibility for the full complement of courses that reflect the department's global perspective. These proposals also respond to the College's policy to avoid repeated use of the 597 number for similar subject-matter. Thus we are proposing three separate comparative courses on Asian, African, and Inter-American literatures. All represent subject-matter previously taught as CMLIT 597 or other less clearly defined CMLIT numbers.Comparative study of Asian literatures is an important part of the curriculum of our Comparative Literature Department. It is a field of study identified as one of our specialties in our recent strategic plans. Joining existing graduate seminars in European literatures, this course and the other two new graduate courses now being proposed will make visible the ways in which the departmental curriculum to covers the diverse geographic areas relevant to comparative literary study.Our Department offers instruction in three Asian languages (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), has long taught 100- and 400-level courses in Asian literatures (Comp Lit 004 and Comp Lit 404), has linkages with universities in China and Japan, and has attracted a steady stream of graduate students who work in Asian literatures and languages. Interest in the literatures of Asia is strong. As a further indication of our Departments globalization, we are establishing a new undergraduate major in Japanese (this proposal is presently in the Senate).In sum, we have long had separate numbers for our undergraduate Asian language and literature courses and we have previously offered graduate Asian literature courses under general numbers. In addition to complying with College policy and not continuing to use 597 repeatedly, we wish to make this field more visible within our curriculum by giving it a course number of its own.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

12

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Comparative topics presenting literary works of Africa, from the origins of literature in Africa to the present time. CMLIT 523 CMLIT 523 Comparative Seminar in African Literature (1-12)This course forms one of a series of three new-course proposals for seminars in comparative literature with a focus on various parts of the world. While existing seminars focus on comparative studies organized according to concepts such as literary theory, period, theme, or genre, through the proposed new seminars the Department of Comparative Literature seeks to provide visibility for the full complement of courses that reflect the department's global perspective. These proposals also respond to the College's policy to avoid repeated use of the 597 number for similar subject-matter. Thus we are proposing three separate comparative courses on Asian, African, and Inter-American literatures. All represent subject-matter previously taught as CMLIT 597 or other less clearly defined CMLIT numbers.Comparative study of African literatures is an increasingly important part of the curriculum of our Comparative Literature Department. It is a field of study identified as one of our specialties in our recent strategic plans. Joining existing graduate seminars in European literatures, this course and the other two new graduate courses now being proposed (on Asian and Inter-American literatures) will make visible the ways in which the departmental curriculum covers the diverse geographical areas relevant to comparative literary study.Our Department offers language instruction in Swahili and Arabic, has long taught 100-level and 400-level courses on African literature, has developed linkages with several African universities, and has attracted a steady stream of graduate students to work in African literature during the last two decades. Interest in the literatures of Africa is strong.Africa as a continent has produced thousands of writers and a highly diverse body of literature written in English, French, Arabic, Portuguese and over 50 African languages. It is also a rich source of literature recorded from oral traditions maintained in the more than 1,000 languages spoken on the continent. A comparative approach to the study of these literatures provides an appropriately internationalized context for understanding African literatures and for seeing them in the purview of world literature as a whole.In sum, we have long had separate numbers for our undergraduate African languages and literature courses and we have previously offered graduate courses on African literatures under general numbers. In addition to complying with College policy and not continuing to use 597 repeatedly, we wish to make this field more visible within our curriculum by giving it a course number of its own.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

12

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of modern Arab/ic literature, in dialogue with critical approaches that illuminate these texts within a comparative framework. By examining the critical interventions and debates that have shaped Arabic literature up until our present moment, this course invites students to attend to the manifold ways that this literature engages the major theoretical paradigms of global literary studies. It subsequently de-provincializes these debates beyond the limited purview of ethno-linguistic, philological, or geopolitical divisions of the field. It instead situates this literature as an active agent within world literary debates and criticism, both past and present. In this regard, the course will invite students to critically reframe the (neo)colonial or (neo)orientalist categories of the `Middle East' and `Near East,' and to consider other supra- and transnational exchanges staged across Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean, as well as in the diaspora. In so doing, the course aims to look beyond the exclusive lens of the (post)colonial, or binary models of center/periphery, that dominate discussions of `third-world' literature. In moving away from the siloing of these traditions within Area Studies, the course considers the repercussions of these debates for narrative, aesthetic, geopolitical, theoretical, and pedagogical concerns across the study of Comparative Literature. Students will read a wide variety of literary texts in English translation, spanning a range of genres (prose, poetry, drama, film). Alongside these works, they will engage with critical and philosophical writings from the Arab/ic context, on topics such as aesthetics and the sublime, affects and embodiment, futurity and dystopia, ecocriticism and the Anthropocene, language, modernity/postmodernism, globalization, trauma, and more. After having taken this class, students will have gained a sound grasp of the field, as well as its literary and historical dimensions. They will also have developed a critical understanding of the current challenges and directions of the study of modern Arab/ic literature.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of global Japanese literature, in dialogue with critical approaches that illuminate these texts. The narrative of ethnic, geographic, and linguistic isomorphism ¿ the notion that a Japanese people speaking a Japanese language live in the Japanese islands ¿ is a carefully crafted and relatively modern fiction in Japan. This course examines the gradual, and still contentious, formation of a "Japanese" literary canon from multiple vantage points. The class combines a survey of key texts composed in the Japanese islands and in Japanese diaspora communities, alongside an examination of the critical paradigms that surround the production, reception, and interpretation of these texts.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This course provides students and overview of key texts and trends in modern Korean literature and culture from a global perspective. It examines the most prominent literary and visual works that articulate the intricacy of modern Korean culture at the intersections of major historical, ideological, and environmental forces and issues in the twentieth century such as colonialism, cultural imperialism, Cold War politics, democratic movement, feminist movement, environmental injustice, etc. Students will also read texts on modern Korean history as well as literary and cultural criticism and theories to improve their analytical ability that will be demonstrated in their writings.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Mutual influences among specific literatures and cultures; for example, German-American, French-American, Inter-American, or East-West literary relations.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Intellectual currents and experimental forms in contemporary world literature.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This course provides students with an overview of the core texts and main critical paradigms of modern Chinese literary studies. This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of the main critical approaches to modern Chinese literature, by placing these paradigms into historical perspective and linking them with key texts that illuminate the authors' arguments and demonstrate exemplary readings that have proven influential in the field, past and present. The particular focus of the course may vary according to the instructor (e.g. themes, genres, regions etc.), but the course will generally cover critical interventions and debates, helping students to understand the emergence of the field in its present form; they will also scrutinize major trends that are providing new directions for the study of modern Chinese literature. In addition to the critical literature, students will read a range of key literary texts, from the late Qing to the twenty-first century, that provide insights into the forces (aesthetic and intellectual, as well as social and historical) that have shaped the canon of modern Chinese literature. Critical analyses and literary texts are chosen in a way so as to illuminate each other. At the end of the class, students will have gained a sound grasp of the field and its literary and historical dimensions, and develop a critical understanding of the current challenges and directions of the study of modern Chinese literature. Cross Listings: CMLIT 577 will be added as a cross-listed course.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Major issues in contemporary literary theory and their significance for criticism, with emphasis on continental European theorists and their influence.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This course is the required introductory course for the Public Humanities Fellowship in The Humanities Institute and The Graduate Certificate in Public Humanities. The course introduces students to central theories, methods, and practices in public humanities with a focus on creating publicly engaged digital media projects. Students will develop an understanding of theoretical frameworks for conceptualizing public humanities as well as how public humanities work can address present-day problems and foster shared knowledge production between universities and communities. The course offers hands-on training in three forms of digital media production: documentary film, podcasting, and web publishing. Students will apply humanities knowledge and research through experiential learning in community engagement, documentary storytelling, oral history, and project development. In addition to readings and case studies, students learn from practitioners and community experts across a range of humanities disciplines. Through respectful engagement with diverse ideas, perspectives, and experiences, students will develop publicly engaged projects in collaboration with community partners that reflect the importance of humanities knowledge to civic life.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This course is the required capstone course for the Public Humanities Fellowship in The Humanities Institute and The Graduate Certificate in Public Humanities. The centerpiece of the course is the development of a public-facing humanities project on a topic of social importance chosen by the student. Throughout the course, students will apply their learning and skills in public humanities, collaborative community engagement, and digital media production gained during the prerequisite course, CMLIT581 Public Humanities Across the Disciplines/LA335N Media, Social Justice and the Public Humanities. Along the way, students will implement practices for ethical community engagement that uplift community experts, represent people with integrity, and engage public audiences in a sustained, substantive manner. The students will collaborate with a range of public humanities practitioners and community experts through public engagement as they develop projects showcasing how the public humanities can bring people together to reflect and act on present-day social issues.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

The seminar examines the public facing aspects of comparative literature studies. It analyzes the roles played by literary institutions, mass and alternative media, cultural and literary criticism, translation, and the materiality of media forms in the knowledge production of global literature and culture. It critically evaluates old and new media in translingual and cross-cultural communication and knowledge production, asking students to pay attention to the ways in which literature is made, received, and then transferred across global contexts. The course is also a practicum that aims to foster the transfer of specialized knowledge in comparative literature studies to the broader public. Students will undertake a series of research and writing projects that examine different forms of web publishing, podcasting, or the organization of community cultural events. Students will develop skills in domains such as public writing, web and journal publishing, the development of translation projects, and other public facing cultural activities. Students may also participate in various internship opportunities, including but not restricted to assisting in the production of the journal Comparative Literature Studies, which is housed in the Department of Comparative Literature. The various open-ended research and creative projects of this course will cultivate the research, writing, and analytical skills in multilingual and cross-cultural settings for graduate students.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Approaches to the uses and research applications of multimedia and other educational technologies applied to the teaching of foreign languages. (also crosslisted with SPAN 589)

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

9

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Formal courses given on a topical or special inerest subject which may be offered infrequently.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

9

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

No description.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

15

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

No description.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

0

Credits (max)

0

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Supervision of teaching; consideration of insturctional aims and objectives, methods of lecturing and leading discussions, evaluation of student work.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Foreign study and/or research constituting progress toward the degree at a foreign university.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

12

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

No description.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

15

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

2026

Source

bulletins.psu.edu