GLITS 314 B: Literature Across Genres/Modes

Spring 2026
View in MyPlan View in Time Schedule
Meeting:
MW 1:30pm - 3:20pm
SLN:
14842
Section Type:
Lecture
Joint Sections:
MELC 571 A , TXTDS 501 B , TXTDS 401 B , MELC 371 A
IMPERIAL TEXT IN ISLAMIC TEXTURE: LITERATURE AND THE ARTS IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. JOINT WITH MELC 371 A.
Syllabus Description (from Canvas):

These are two texts: the one on the left dates from the late sixteenth century, the one on the right from the early twentieth. What do they say? (And can texts speak?)

IMPERIAL TEXT IN ISLAMIC TEXTURE

Literature and Arts in the Ottoman Empire

Course Description

This course examines Ottoman court literature and visual culture as elite practices embedded in imperial governance. Focusing on poetry, historiography, calligraphy, manuscripts, architecture, and visual representation, we explore how Ottoman authors and artists used Islamic idioms to produce distinction rather than universality.

The course emphasizes close reading, comparative thinking, and material analysis. Students will engage with translated Ottoman texts while situating them within broader conversations about empire, world literature, and cultural hierarchy—without assuming that global circulation necessarily implies cultural equality.

Almost all reading material will be provided online. 

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Analyze Ottoman literary and visual texts as elite cultural practices
  • Identify how form, language, and materiality shape access and exclusion
  • Situate Ottoman texts within transregional literary networks without reducing their specificity
  • Practice comparative analysis grounded in close reading
  • Articulate how imperial aesthetics evolve over time

Course Structure

  • Weekly thematic units combining text + image
  • One gazel (or excerpt) per week for sustained poetic literacy
  • Emphasis on discussion rather than coverage
  • Gradual movement from early imperial formation to late imperial self-reflection

Major Assignments

  • Discussion Board
  • Reading Assignments
  • In-Class Exercises
  • Final Project (digital curation or analytical essay)
Catalog Description:
Literary work developed across various forms of imaginative expression, such as the adaptation of prose fiction to theater, or treatment of a common theme in multiple genres (such as poetry, legend, opera, comics, fictional and non-fictional narrative, essays). Topics vary.
GE Requirements Met:
Arts and Humanities (A&H)
Writing (W)
Credits:
5.0
Status:
Active
Last updated:
March 12, 2026 - 5:41 pm