Is compassion the foundation of human morality or a dangerously unreliable emotion? This course explores how  different media foster empathy for commonly held enemies or discriminated groups.

Discuss poetry from around the world and write original poems. You will discover and cultivate the artist within while exploring poetry as a vehicle for engaging in cross-cultural dialogue.

THE CLASSICAL TRADITION

GLITS 311A / C LIT 360C / CLAS 410  

5 credits A&H

•ANCIENT•MEDIEVAL•RENAISSANCE•ROMANTIC•MODERN•

This class is about the journeys of millions of people who leave their homelands hoping to start their lives somewhere else, in flight from harsh conditions or in pursuit of personal growth.

We will be discussing and comparing two major Epic poems, the Iliad on Ancient Greek side and the Mahābhārata on the Indian side. These works can tell a lot about emotions, in Antiquity and today.

Introduces the basic concepts of Slavic linguistics. Addresses the origin of the Slavs and major stages of their linguistic history. Considers Slavic languages and their peculiarities in detail. Taught in English.

Explores literature in conjunction with other fields of study, such as environmental humanities, medical humanities, or studies of literature and law, literature and art. Topics vary.

While wars seem “never ending, still beginning,” we seldom pay attention to what wisdom, if any, can be gleaned from how they are portrayed by poets and writers. While the genre of war literature, which ranges from eyewitness accounts of combat to the depictions of civilians caught in the crossfire, has had many practitioners over the centuries, our readings will include works by David Diop (France), Bertolt Brecht (Germany), Anna Świrszczyńska (Poland), Yusef Komunyaaka (USA), Tarfia Faizullah (Bangladesh/USA), Don Mee Choi (Korea/USA), Serhiy Zhadan (Ukraine), among others.

Studies in literary and cultural history, spanning multiple periods. Topics vary.