CMLIT

3 CMLIT 101 Race, Gender, and Identity in World Literature

Subject

CMLIT

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Other Issues of Diversity (3) (GH;US;IL)(BA) This course examines issues of race, gender, religions, and ethnicity as expressed in literary, social, and cultural contexts. We will address these questions in works from a variety of traditions and time periods. Literary works from around the world show a wide range of response to the "other" -- idealization of difference as exotic, fear of difference as threat, the desire to suppress difference or force it into conformity, the recognition of difference within ourselves, etc. The scope includes authors who are themselves members of racial, sexual or ethnic groups with which you may be less familiar. You will also consider the question of who and what constitutes identity as perceived by oneself and by others. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Literary humor expressed as satire, comedy, and farce--from ancient times to the present--in an international and multicultural context.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

The growth and development of the legend of King Arthur, from medieval Europe to modern Japan. CMLIT 106 The Arthurian Legend (3) (GH;IL) (BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course is designed to familiarize students with the legends about and surrounding King Arthur and the Round Table fellowship. Through a series of readings, students will survey the development of the legends of Arthur from their beginnings in early medieval Europe to their modern adaptations in many cultures around the world. The Arthurian legend is an ideal vehicle for showing the ways in which literary works capture and express changing value systems in different cultural and historical situations, and thus the course is a good example of comparative (international) approaches to literary study. Classes will discuss the changing cultural' ideals represented, the different characterizations of the central figures, and the literary, techniques employed. Lectures and discussions will be supplemented by overheads, slides, music, and films or film clips dealing with Arthurian themes. Throughout, the course will ask why and how the stories of Arthur and the Round Table fellowship have captured the imagination of artists, political and religious leaders, and readers throughout the ages and around the world. Finally, it will ask how the practical concerns of daily life are developed in this literature- for example, how does this highly imaginative literature address practical concerns such as striking a balance between one's short-term goals and personal gratifications, and one's long-range obligations to other people? Means of evaluation will be selected from the following (always including writing): essay exam questions, short answer and objective questions, reading journals, quizzes, in-class discussion, group projects (including web sites), research and critical papers, and final comprehensive written exam. CMLIT 106 is not required for the Comparative Literature major but may be selected to fulfill one of the course requirements for the major or the World Literature Minor. This course also fulfills the General Education Humanities requirement, the Bachelor of Arts Humanities requirement, and the IL requirement. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3895

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

(GH;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. CMLIT 107 compares the literatures of travel, migration, exploration, and exile from ancient times to the future, from narratives of journeys actually experienced through narratives of journeys imagined in the mind. The notion of the journey is broadly defined as encompassing both literal and metaphorical experiences, including travel journals and diaries, epic adventures, quests of introspection, dreams and visions, and depictions of the future. Through reading, discussion, and writing, you will examine and compare the different roles that travel can play in the imaginations of both the individual writers and the cultures from which they come. You will not only explore recurrent themes and timeless topics, but also the ways in which travel writing can both reinforce and subvert the basic value-systems, stereotypes, or other assumptions present in its cultural context. For many writers, traveling elsewhere is a means of evaluating their own societies, as well as a means of recording their responses to encountering real or imagined new places. The journeys of this course, which vary greatly from each other, will also allow you to consider some of the vast unknowns of the individual human mind and imagination. By traveling through this course, you will have the opportunity to develop the analytic reading, thinking, and writing skills necessary for the understanding of a variety of literatures and cultures, as well as the exploration of your own identity as an individual. This course fulfills requirements for the Comparative Literature major, the World Literature minor, General Education Humanities, Bachelor of Arts Humanities, and General Education International/Intercultural Competency. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

World mythology: myths primarily of non-Western cultures, based on selected areas and traditions around the world. CMLIT 108 Myths and Mythologies (3) (GH;IL)(BA) This course offers a survey of several different cultural traditions as expressed in myth, as well as discussion of myth in its literary, social, geographical, political, and religious contexts. Various theories of the evolution and analysis of myth will be examined. Mythological traditions from around the globe will be compared in order to determine qualities which they share and examine ways in which they are unique. This course will help you see the world in new and exciting ways, based on the wide variety of global myths. At the same time, you will consider the permanent human issues which connect all of these traditions to each other, to the modern world, and to you. CMLIT 108 is one of the choices of survey courses, which count toward the Comparative Literature major and the World Literature minor. This course also fulfills the General Education humanities requirement, the

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Myths, legends, and literatures of Native American cultures. CMLIT 109 Native American Myths, Legends, and Literatures (3) (GH;GI)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. CMLIT 109, Native American Myths, Legends, and Literatures, will allow you to read many traditional tales and selected works of modern literature representing a variety of American indigenous peoples. We will be examining the ways in which the myths, legends, and literary works reflect the cultural values and religious beliefs of the tribal nations from which they derive. You will learn how to read critically, analyzing symbols, archetypes, and motifs through the comparison of selected tales to others from the same and from different cultures, allowing you to recognize the rich diversity and unique oral traditions of Native American culture. You will also examine various geographical, historical, political, and social conditions which contribute to myth-making. Through the application of various theories of myth analysis, you will also synthesize the information learned about various Native American traditions with a view toward understanding the distinctive identities of Native American cultures, including where applicable their position as minority cultures, and also seeing their participation in universal human beliefs and concerns. CMLIT 109 can serve as a foundation for other courses dealing with the literatures of the Americas or for other courses dealing with minority literatures and cultures. CMLIT 109 is not required for the CMLIT major but may be selected to fulfill one of the course requirements for the major or form part of a student's choices for the World Literature minor. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities Bachelor of Arts: World Cultures

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Subject

CMLIT

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

HINDI 3 Level Two Hindi A

Subject

CMLIT

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Introduction to Global Drama, Theater, and Performance will enable students to discover the power and excitement of drama in a global context. Students will encounter a variety of cultural contexts as they observe how playwrights portray local histories and lifestyles, in settings from many parts of the world. The course will offer (1) an introductory overview of concepts and terms associated with understanding drama and the technical aspects of theater. It will present (2) traditional dramatic forms such as tragedy, comedy, history play, allegory, Noh, etc., as seen in plays prior to the twentieth century; and (3) the dramatic contributions of multiple cultural groups in the U.S., with African American, Asian American, Latino, and other U.S. plays seen not in isolation, but in relation to world drama. (4) the course will consider ways in which drama, as a form of world literature, can have an international and intercultural impact, both in earlier periods and recently, when global circulation and international collaboration are increasingly frequent. Finally, (5) this course will look at world drama and theater from a design and performance perspective. Class work may include lectures or presentations by the instructor, presentations by students, web based activities, and focused discussions.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Comparative study of diverse interpretations of stories from the Bible in Judaism and Christianity. CMLIT 113 / JST 113 / CAMS 113 / RLST 113 Myths and Legends of the Jews (3) (GH;IL) The impact of the Bible on Western Culture is immense. Beyond its religious importance, the motifs and images from its myths and stories permeate literature and

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Important literary works dealing with witchcraft, demonology, vampirism, ghosts, and related concepts, from biblical times to present. CMLIT 120 The Literature of the Occult (3) (GH;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. CMLIT 120 is the study of literatures of the occult. Through readings of creative and critical works, you will develop an enhanced awareness of the variations among cultures and historical periods in accepting, fostering, tolerating or Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3897 sometimes suppressing-unorthodox traditions. Our range of readings from world literature will show that what is rejected or scorned in one cultural context may be tolerated or even honored in another. You will also explore the social, political, ethical and religious implications of "occult." The course will be designed to compare various manifestations of the occult in literatures from around the globe and throughout history. You will explore issues of difference, and will develop an awareness of the tendency to demonize the 'strange' and 'inaccessible.' Through various texts from around the world, you will develop the ability to analyze literature in different ways. Readings will be examined both within their cultural context, and in relation to widely found or perhaps universal themes of the occult which transcend the boundaries of time and place. CMLIT 120 is one of the many choices of survey courses which count towards the Comparative Literature major and the World Literature minor. This course also fulfills the General Education Humanities requirement, the Bachelor of Arts Humanities requirement, or the United States and International Cultures requirement. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

A study of the relationships between science, literature, and film, from an international and interdisciplinary perspective. CMLIT 122 Global Science Fictions (3) (GH;US;IL) (BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course examines science fiction and the fictions of science from an international and interdisciplinary perspective. Course content includes a history of the idea of science, of its engagement with and by fictional, filmic, dramatic, and poetic narratives, within an explicitly comparative framework that includes material from Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Students will develop a theory of genre and its development over time; they will recognize regional, cultural, and historical differences and forms of change that affect the intellectual development of the arts and sciences. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This class studies how art, literature, film, and other media can help us to gain a perspective on one of the most horrific events in human history, the Holocaust: the genocidal murder of more than six million men, women, and children (mostly Jewish) under the Nazi regime during World War II. We will also examine the theoretical questions involved in any attempt to capture what appears to be beyond our comprehension, in terms of moral outrage and the sheer scale, inhumanity, and bureaucratic efficiency. To this end we will study literary works, such as Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz, films such as Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, Roman Polanski's The Pianist, and Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful,

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

The world of banned books, their history, and their politics, studied comparatively and internationally. CMLIT 130 Banned Books: International and Comparative Perspectives (3) (GH;IL)This course examines one of the most documented events in the history of book reception - the banning of books. Bannings provide a useful window onto the myriad functions of culture in social identity formation. In order to understand how and why offense is given and taken, students will learn to place texts in a specific context of their historical production and reception and also to extrapolate connections between disparate moments when taboos were named. Incorporating examples from a range of global systems of censorship, the course examines differences in the modes and effects of repression and the sometimes surprising connections between church and monarchy, fascism and democracy. This course raises the following questions:-How has censorship been justified? When, if ever, is censorship justifiable? What are the grounds on which censorship can be judged successful or incomplete? Who censors? Who is censored? What are local categories of censorship? Though books are banned for reasons of blasphemy, sedition, and obscenity in various guises in several cultures, are these global categories? How do writers write against a ban? How do they write within it? What are the roles of importation, technologies of circulation, and geography in the censorship of texts? How do border-crossings and forms of miscegenation offend? Is there a unifying aesthetics to books that offend? The course will help students understand value systems and historical contexts in which they were produced and in which they caused offense. It will also ask students to draw connections between seemingly unrelated moments of offense in order to assist students in developing both analytical and expressive abilities. The course is designed to be suitable for all students, whether o not they have previously studied literature or comparative literature.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Issues of ethics, truth, justice, and social order as embodied in crime and detective literature, presented in comparative contexts. CMLIT 131 Crime and Detection in World Literature (3) (GH;IL)This course studies the origins and development of crime and detective literature from an international and interdisciplinary perspective. Beginning with early Greek tragedies, the course traces literature's investment in issues of crime, violence, detection, forensics, and social justice through a variety of historical and cultural contexts; this may include the classical era, the early modern period, the Enlightenment, the industrial era, and the modern/contemporary world. Some of the questions addressed may include reigning myths about law and order; the rise of urban societies and mass culture; the construction of the detective figure, the witness, the criminal, and the victim as models of subjectivity; issues of gender and sexual violence; and the nature of justice. Students will learn about the history of the idea of crime and its relationship with literary form. They will develop ideas about the contribution of literary thinking to ideas of social justice, as well as a theory of genre and its development over time; they will recognize regional, cultural, and historical differences and forms of change that affect the intellectual development of literature and detection alike.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Introduction to Nobel Prize winning literature and the culture of the prize in international and historical context. CMLIT 132 Novel Prize Literature (3) (GH;IL) (BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.This course will provide an introduction to Nobel prize-winning literature. Students will learn about the authors and their works in cultural and historical context. Readings will cover several genres (such as poetry, drama, short story, and novel) and will include authors from an array of linguistic and cultural traditions (such as African, Latin American, Middle Eastern, European, North American, and Asian). In addition to reading primary literature, students will enrich their understanding of literary history by exploring secondary material such as essays, short biographies, reviews of author's works, and the authors' Nobel Prize acceptance lectures. The course will begin by introducing Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize, and by surveying the parameters guiding how the prize has been awarded since its inauguration in 1901. Further readings may be organized temporally or thematically, but will r be structured so that students develop a global perspective, allowing them to understand the variety of cultural contexts that have inspired the creative works under study. By examining the primary literature in connection with developing trends in prize culture, students will investigate such topics as pacifism and optimism in international prize culture, narrative and rhetorical techniques, the formation and expression of identity, changing gender roles and social expectations, the development of global Englishes, the emerging notion of world literature, and the changing climates of censorship and freedom of expression. The course is designed to be suitable for all students generally interested in

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Across cultures and across history, people have used political satire to call out abuses of power, manipulation, deception, and absurdity. While there are examples of political satire everywhere, its growth is a form of political resistance and as a source of political behavior has been on the rise since the turn of the 21st century. Drawing on examples from Stephen Colbert to Bassem Youssef to Charlie Hebdo and studying a range of different types of satirical media this course examines the role that satire has played in shaping political discourse and advancing democracy. Possible topics include the use of satire to bring down Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic, the attacks on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the political comedy of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, the street art of Banksy, and the use of political cartooning in Africa. Students will hone their analytical skills through critical response papers, cross-cultural assessment of satire, comparative analysis of satirical forms, group projects, assessment of the effects of satire on shaping political debates, and quizzes on readings from the social sciences and humanities. This class is a GenEd inter- domain course for GH/GS; and International Cultures (IL) course. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

1-12 Comparative Perspectives 1-12 CMLIT 141 Religion and Literature 3 4 CMLIT 142 The Psychology of World Literature 3 4 CMLIT 143 Human Rights and World Literature 3

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Major religious themes as expressed in literary masterpieces; sacred texts from various cultures read as literature. CMLIT 141 Religion and Literature (3) (GH;US;IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. CMLIT 141 is an introduction to literature, to religious writing, and to the many ways in which literature draws upon or interacts with religion. Among the many possible relationships between religion and literature are: straightforward dramatization of sacred texts; allegory; expression of mystical experience; exploration, dramatization, and individualization of theological issues; the creation of literature to promote or to meet the needs of piety; and utilization of religious imagery and symbolism as a poetic resource. Readings will include sacred texts, and also literature that draws upon or responds to sacred texts and religious traditions. It may also include avowedly secular literature that shows some relationship to religious tradition, and even literature questioning or critical of specific religious traditions or their adherents. Students will read works from a range of historical periods and world societies, both Western and non-western. CMLIT 141 is not required for the CMLIT major but may be selected to fulfill one of the course requirements for the major or for the World Literature Minor. This course also fulfills the General Education Humanities requirement, the Bachelor of Arts Humanities requirement, and the United States and International Cultures requirement. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

A comparative, psychological approach to world literature from the perspectives of writer, narrative, character, and reader. CMLIT 142 The ? Psychology of World Literature (3) (GH;IL) (BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course explores various psychological approaches to the discussion of literature from the perspectives of writer, narrative, character and reader. Can authors, narrators, and fictitious characters be "psychoanalyzed"? To what extent do cultural variants affect a psychological approach to literature? Are d there psychological universals that transcend time and culture? How does an awareness of psychology affect the reader? All of these issues

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Human rights violations discussed in tandem with their literary representation, presented in a global and comparative context.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Why do we live in a world where so many people must flee their homes to survive? This course focuses on the rise in forced migration in response to violence, persecution, war, natural disasters, poverty, and environmental degradation from the late twentieth century onward. In the news media, the story of "the global refugee crisis" tends to be told through images of unprecedented disaster and spectacular havoc. To historicize displacement, students will consider the legacies that have led to violence and conflict, giving special consideration to European colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade. They will further learn about the impact of World War II, the Holocaust, and the Cold War on the emergence of the modern human rights architecture and on legal definitions that remain relevant to this day. To investigate this wide-ranging global topic, this course brings together frameworks and contributions from the social sciences and the humanities, inviting students to study the histories, experiences, and voices of those living in a world that moves. Students will engage with artistic representations of displacement through literature and film, in dialogue with migrant testimonies, archival material, international agreements, legal documents, and statistical data. This course adopts a comparative approach, inviting students to consider regimes of (im)mobility from a number of global contexts. Finally, to connect the international content of this course to the local environment, the class will also consider how forcible migration has reshaped communities in Pennsylvania. Given the large scope of the course topic, students can expect some variance in course content as reflective of faculty expertise and interest. Course activities might include interactions with guest speakers, representatives from organizations, interviews with various stakeholders, field trips, creative work, and participation in a public showcase. Students are encouraged to contact the listed instructor for more detailed information.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Comparison of narrative techniques employed by literature and film in portraying different cultures, topics may vary each semester. CMLIT 153 International Cultures Through Literature and Film (3) (GH;IL) (BA) This course will compare narrative and artistic techniques employed by literature and film in portraying different social and cultural environments, which will range widely around the globe and may include Africa and the Middle East, East Asia, and South America, as well as European and North American examples. Students will view films and read novels or other texts such as short stories, plays, and poems. The purpose of this course is to have students examine how the selected artists have developed their intentions and their subject matter in their respective medium, literature or film, and to allow students to study modes of narration across different cultures and media. Through a combination of lectures and comparative discussions, students will examine how components, including plot, genre, environment, character, and point of view are developed in films and fiction from diverse cultures. The course will also discuss techniques that are exclusive to each medium such as editing and cinematography. The comparative nature of the course allows students to understand, evaluate, and appreciate both the universal and unique qualities of the human condition. The study of narrative technique will help students develop analytical skills in discussing and writing about the literary and cinematic expression of cultural values. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

In this honors course, we'll explore changing perspectives on life and approaches to studying life. More specifically, we'll examine, through an historical lens, humankind's quest to describe and explain and, ultimately, to expand the diversity of the living world. We begin with early attempts to classify living things for example, Aristotle and Pliny. We then see how medieval bestiaries appropriated classical ideas about nature while adding to them in the context of Christian historia. In the Enlightenment, Linnaeus's taxonomic work provided a new way of naming and systematizing organisms. On the other hand, the nascent scientific methods of Sir Francis Bacon anticipate the shift from the descriptive to the theoretical and mechanistic that accompanied Darwin's first sketch of a phylogenetic tree and the theory of evolution. We consider new theories, methods, and language in our examination of Watson and Crick and the double helix, molecular biology, and genomics. The course concludes with a glimpse at future possibilities enabled by what was studied previously in the course: genetic engineering, synthetic biology, and de-extinction. The course's original structure offers the experiential engagement of the sciences through laboratory experiments and fieldwork along with the workshop and directed discussions characteristic of the humanities seminar. The content and type of "readings" also reflect both areas and include primary and secondary sources in a variety of media. A visit to a natural history museum and/or zoo provides important physical contexts where students learn about type specimens, live specimens, and how scientists today use collections. They will assemble and curate their own zoological collection, juxtaposing various approaches to describing and classifying animals. The integration of the humanities and the sciences into a single course, along with the incorporation of significant experiential work, helps students gain a broad and deep understanding of and appreciation for each of these intellectual disciplines and for life itself. Cross-listed with: SC 183Q General Education: Humanities (GH) General Education: Natural Sciences (GN) General Education - Integrative: Interdomain

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This course is designed to introduce students to the art of the short story and to acquaint them with some of its most talented writers. During the semester we will read short stories from various cultures and countries, ranging from stories written in the early nineteenth-century to those written within the last few years. Readings will include works from authors like Hawthorne, Melville, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Bierce, Chekhov, Kafka, Chopin, Crane, Gilman, James, Cather, Joyce, Woolf, Faulkner, Hemingway, Lawrence, Orwell, O'Connor, Baldwin, Olson, Silko, Erdrich, Ondaatje, Barth, Barthelme, Atwood, Mukherjee, Walker, Tan, Calvino, Garcia Marquez, and Cortazar. All readings will be in English. This course is intended to help one learn how to read fiction, how to Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3901 understand it, and how to talk about it. The desire to tell stories and to be told stories is one of the most basic human needs, and all cultures have been defined in part by the stories they hear and the stories they tell. We are not born knowing how to read the short story or any fiction for that matter. Rather it is a skill that one acquires, and the more one does it, like playing tennis or any other activity, the better one becomes at it, for we learn what to look for. We will explore the historical development of the short story genre, and examine how historical contexts relate to the content and style of the stories under discussion. We will become familiar with how stories are put together and with the vocabulary that is used to discuss fiction--terms such as plot, narrative, character, tone, language, closure, irony, imagery. and so forth. CMLIT/ENGL 184 is not required for the CmLit major but may be selected to fulfill one of the course requirements for the major or the World Literature Minor. This course also fulfills the General Education Humanities requirement, the Bachelor of Arts Humanities requirement, and International Cultures requirement. Cross-listed with: ENGL 184 Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Development of the modern novel in the last century (outside the British Isles and the United States); lectures, discussions, readings in translation. CMLIT 185 / ENGL 185 The Modern Novel in World Literature (3) (GH) (BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. In this course, students will read examples of the modern novel from around the world. Focusing on novels written outside of America and England, this class will explore the development of the modern novel as a genre across a number of world cultures. As an example, moving from the beginnings of literary modernism (the late nineteenth century) through the early and mid twentieth century, the course will consider works by writers such as the following: Chinua Achebe, Italo Calvino, Albert Camus, Simone deBeauvior, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Isak Dinesen, Marguerite Duras, Natalia Ginzburg, Herman Hesse, James Joyce, Thomas Mann, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Kenzaburo Oe, and Marcel Proust. This course will address the ways in which the world novels under consideration constitute examples of various literary forms and styles. The class will examine the differences and distances between literary movements such as social realism and magical realism, modernism and postmodernism. The goals of this course will be to hone students' critical reading and writing skills while granting them the ability to think about the modern novel as a distinct genre in a comparative global context. This course will help students to develop the analytical skills necessary to analyze complex written texts.. Cross-listed with: ENGL 185 Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This course is a comparative introduction to the nature and history of video games as cultural artifacts, from Pong to online role-playing. It introduces students to academic discussion on and creative work in new digital forms including hypertexts, video games, cell phone novels, machinima, and more. Students will survey major debates over the meaning and value of video games, and study some of the major theoretical terms and perspectives developed to elaborate the cultural and sociological value of video games. The course extends students' skills in literary interpretation to a variety of new objects, and makes them aware of the role medium plays in aesthetic development and production. Students will leave with a far sharper understanding of how the interpretive tools used in the humanities can be extended to include new media, and with a sense of the historical role video games have played and will continue to play in global cultural production. Because the course is historically focused, it will spend significant time looking a the differential development of video games in three major regions: the United States, Europe, and East Asia (especially Japan). Cross-listed with: GAME 160N Bachelor of Arts: Arts Bachelor of Arts: Humanities United States Cultures (US) General Education: Arts (GA) General Education: Humanities (GH) General Education - Integrative: Interdomain GenEd Learning Objective: Crit and Analytical Think GenEd Learning Objective: Integrative Thinking

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 9 Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject which may be topical or of special interest. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

9

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

CMLIT 240Q Artistic Patronage in Europe 3 CSD 269 CMLIT 299 Foreign Studies 1-12 CSD 300

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

This course surveys the institutions and social networks in which European fine arts were created, consumed and critiqued. Beginning with the medieval period and ranging to the early 20th century, the course will examine the variety of communities where public and private often intersected and which sponsored innovations in the arts. Often indexing social movements and political change, such communities include convents and cathedrals, royal academies and courts, coffee houses, salons, and theaters. Artists, performers, patrons, politicians, journalists, and others collaborated and competed in these spaces. Such communities could embody political and economic power, or foster resistance to it. This approach to the history of the arts in western culture puts the focus less on the individual creative genius of great composers, writers, painters, and sculptors, and more on the social exchanges and institutions that sponsored and received their work. Such an approach brings to light particularly the ways in which women played significant roles in the production and reception of culture: as salon hostesses, patronesses, and divas, women often enabled and enacted cultural production. Some examples of particular units of study might include: the German convent of Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), where monophonic chant and allegorical morality plays developed; the Mantuan (Italy) court of Isabella d'Este ,the first lady of the world, (1474-1539) where the roots of the madrigal began and where notable painters found support and sponsorship; the French salons of Mme. Geoffrin (1699-1777) and Mme. de Staël (1766-1817); and the student residences in Madrid where avant- garde writers and artists interacted. Each unit will also consider the relationships between the aesthetic norms and values of a period and the economic and political realities of sponsorship. The course will require t that students attend at least one musical performance or concert held on campus during the semester and complete a brief writing project based on that experience. This requirement will encourage students to think about their own university as a contemporary space of cultural sponsorship. Cross-listed with: HIST 240Q, IT 240Q, WMNST 240Q

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 18 Supervised off-campus, non-group instruction including field experiences, practica, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

18

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 18 Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

18

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 9 Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject which may be topical or of special interest. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

9

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 12 Courses offered in foreign countries by individual or group instruction.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

12

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Individual projects involving research, reading, and writing; preparation of an honors thesis in comparative literature or world literature. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Prerequisite

Participation in the University Scholars program

CSD 462

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Supporting Courses and Related Areas Select 27 credits from sections A, B, and C, including at least 15 27 credits at the 400 level:

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Literary and other forms of cultural expression (film, music, art, and theater) are compared across different Latina/o communities. LTNST (CMLIT) 403 Varieties of Latina/o Cultural Expression (3) (US)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course provides students with a multi-faceted comparative view of Latina/ o literature in relation to other forms of cultural expression. First, the course presents a variety of cultural expressions to students in an effort to teach them the different ways that form affects content. Each text will be studied in its historical context as well, thereby providing students with a sense of Latina/o cultural history. Second, this course compares works from within the same genre, allowing students to recognize the ways that Latina/o culture has worked to build identity, to deconstruct identity, and to challenge cultural stereotypes. Such comparison further facilitates comparison of the ways that different cultural forms have been used by diverse Latina/o communities. Third, this course compares cultural forms, allowing students to see how Latina/o poetry affects music or how Latina/o theater affects novels Fourth, this course will include texts that represent a variety of linguistic and national contexts, including many countries in Latin America, thereby allowing students to see the relationship between history, culture, language, geography, Undergraduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 3903 and identity. These are all themes that are at the center of both Latina/o Studies and Comparative Literature. A comparative perspective facilitates appreciation of the vast and varied ways that Latina/o communities have used cultural expression. A particular point of contact between Latina/o Studies and Comparative Literature is the influence of hybridity. A central issue explored in this course concerns the intricate connections between multiple ways of expressing identity, in the arts, literature, music, etc., in diverse circumstances, such as locations where Latina/o cultures may be in the mainstream (such as in Latin America) and in the minority (in the U.S.). Drawing upon approaches offered by comparative literature and theories such as post-structuralism, feminism, and post-colonialism, we will examine the complex process through which Latina/o culture has been defined, disseminated, contested, and commercialized. Of particular interest from a comparative perspective are the ways that Latina/o cultures are created through hybridization, processes of mutual borrowing and differentiation, as well as through transnational processes of migration, urbanization, and cultural contact. The course's objective is to show not only how complex societies consolidate a shared culture but also how diverse Latina/o communities have produced a multiplicity of cultures that have been expressed via a broad range of cultural registers. These communities often span vast geographical areas, not only in the U.S. but across the Americas as people continue to look to their countries of origin for artistic inspiration. semester proficiency in Spanish Cross-listed with: LTNST 403 Bachelor of Arts: Humanities United States Cultures (US)

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Prerequisite

3 credits in the humanities or in any LTNST course, or 4th-

CYBER 199

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

ECON 14 Principles of Economics or ECON 102Introductory Microeconomic Analysis and Policy or ECON 104Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

1

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

CYBER 399

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

CYBER 499

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

DANCE 100

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

DANCE 199

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

DANCE 399

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

DANCE 410

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

DANCE 499

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

DIGIT 499

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

New media literary genres; critical discussion of creative works in digital media. Cross-listed with: ENGL 429 Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

DS 99

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Perspectives DS 299 CMLIT 440 War Stories: The Literature of War 3 DS 399 CMLIT 446 Postcolonial Literature and Culture 3 DS 499 CMLIT 448 Literary Cultures of Buddhism 3 EARTH 105N

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

War Stories: The Literature of War (US/IL): an exploration of representations of war in culture. This course considers how war is represented in a variety of cultural artifacts including literature, film, television, video games, music, art, etc. What stylizations, omissions, and blindnesses are necessary in order to represent the reality or the surreality of war? Readings are from the Classical period (the Iliad) to the current wars. Issues of memory, of traumatic reconstruction after the fact, and of the glorification of war as a necessary aftermath will complement some specific readings and films about (and often against) war. Texts and focus may vary but can include novels, film, video games, television, comics, social media, music, art, and more. Some of the major objectives of this course are to identify formal and aesthetic aspects of literary texts dealing with the topic of war and its aftermath including genre, period, style, theme, language, and narrative structure as well as analyze those texts and other artistic media within a comparative or global context. We will also compare written and visual texts from different cultures, regions, languages, time periods, and genres that deal with the concept of war.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 3 Postcolonial literature and theory in a comparative and international context. CMLIT 446 Postcolonial Literature and Culture (3 per semester/

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Comparative exploration of various Buddhist literary cultures, from the classical Indian subcontinent to modern movements like the Beats and dalit writing. CMLIT 448 Literary Cultures of Buddhism (3) (IL)This course will provide an in-depth exploration of various cultures of Buddhist literary production. Readings will cover a broad temporal and geographical range. Prior study of Buddhism or literature is not required and materials will be in English. Students will learn about major genres of Buddhist literature, such as sutras (scripture), j'taka (stories of the Buddha's previous incarnations), hagiography, miracle tales, religiously inspired poetry, and k?an meditational riddles. The course will also examine the various forms into which contemporary authors have adapted these materials (such as manga, novels, memoirs, and film). The course, or individual units within the course, will be structured so that students develop an historical perspective, allowing them to understand the literary cultures that gave rise to the works under study. Class work includes some lecture but emphasizes guided discussions, group work, writing exercises, and some student presentations. This participatory approach is intended to deepen students' appreciation of the works, to help them understand value systems that may differ from those predominant in western cultures, and to assist students in developing both analytical and expressive abilities. The course is designed to be suitable for all students generally interested in religious cultures of writing, in Buddhism, or in literature, whether or not they have previously studied in any of these areas. The Comparative Literature major requires a certain number of electives at the 400-level, of which this could be one, depending on its content. Further, the course is designed to count as General Education and as an IL ("International") course. It will be taught, as feasible, every 2-3 years with an enrollment of 20-30 students. With the addition of supplementary reading and research assignments, the course may also be suitable for certain graduate students. This course would benefit from access to a laptop and digital projector.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Prerequisite

3 credits in literature

EBF 499

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

ECON 199

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

ECON 299

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

ECON 399

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

ECON 470

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

ECON 472N

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

ECON 499

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

A comparative look at the nature and history of video games as cultural artifacts, from Pond to online role-playing. This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. The video game industry is larger than the film industry, and yet the academic study of video games has only just begun. This course is a comparative introduction to the nature and history of video games as cultural artifacts, from Pong to online role- playing. It introduces students to academic discussion on and creative work in new digital forms including hypertexts, video games, cell phone novels, machinima, and more. Studentswill learn basic narrative theory, and study its impact on game studies and game production. They will survey major debates over the meaning and value of video games, and review its history from Pong to contemporary games, including online world-based games. The course extends students' skills in literary interpretation to a variety of new objects, and makes them aware of the role medium plays in aesthetic development and production. Students will leave with a far sharper understanding of how the interpretivetools used in the humanities can be extended to include new media, and with a sense of the historical role video games have played and will continue to play in global cultural production.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Perspectives EDPSY 99 CMLIT 499 Foreign Study--Comparative Literature 3-6 EDPSY 199 CMPEN 299 Foreign Studies 1-12 EDPSY 299 CMPEN 399 Foreign Studies 1-12 EDPSY 399 CMPEN 499 Foreign Studies 1-12 EDSGN 199 CMPSC 199 Foreign Studies 1-12 EDSGN 270

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 12 Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

12

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 12 Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

12

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 18 Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

18

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 9 Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject which may be topical or of special interest. Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

9

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 6 Advanced courses offered on comparative literary topics as part of a foreign-study program. 6 credits in literature or related field appropriate to this course Bachelor of Arts: Humanities

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

undergraduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Prerequisite

18 credits or equivalent in the appropriate foreign language;

/Maximum of 6 Bibliography, research methods, and studies in comparative literature.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 3 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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

*

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

3

Type

course

Edition

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 6 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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 6 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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 6 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

graduate

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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 6 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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 6 Aesthetic and historical development of Modernism in diverse cultures.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Prerequisite

24 credits in a foreign language

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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 12 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 Graduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 1025 (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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 12 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

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

12

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 12 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 Afric 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

graduate

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

graduate

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 a 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

graduate

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

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 6 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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 6 Intellectual currents and experimental forms in contemporary world literature.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

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, fro 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. Cross-listed with: ASIA 577

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Major issues in contemporary literary theory and their significance for criticism, with emphasis on continental European theorists and their influence. Graduate - The Pennsylvania State University 2026-2027 1027

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

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

graduate

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. Students will apply skills in collaborative, engaged humanities research and digital media production gained during the prerequisite course, Public Humanities Across the Disciplines. 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. Through readings, discussions, on-the-ground public engagement, and digital media production, students will develop projects that demonstrate how the public humanities can bring people together to reflect and act on present day social problems. Elective Course (3 credits) In addition to the prescribed course sequence, students will take one elective course connected with the public humanities from within the student’s home departmental field. In some cases, departments will have a discipline-specific course in public humanities (ie: CMLIT583 Public Humanities in Comparative Literature). Departments can also designate appropriate courses from their offerings that provide discipline-specific training or study of the public humanities (ie: community engagement, oral history, public writing, cultural studies, memory studies, curation ificate Program preservation). The elective course should be chosen in consultation with the student’s DGS and the Public Humanities Program Coordinator. its

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

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) Cross-listed with: APLNG 589, FR 589, GER 589, SPAN 589

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

Alias

SPAN 589

/Maximum of 9 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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 9 Formal courses given on a topical or special inerest subject which may b offered infrequently.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

9

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 999 No description.

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

15

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

0 Credits/Maximum of 999 No description.

Subject

CMLIT

Type

course

Edition

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 3 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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 12 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

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu

/Maximum of 999 No description. Comparative Medicine - MD (CMED)

Subject

CMLIT

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

15

Credit unit

Credits

Type

course

Edition

graduate

Source

bulletins.psu.edu