Comparative Literature (COMPLIT)

COMPLIT 100. CAPITALS: How Cities Shape Cultures, States, and People. 3-5 Units.

This course takes students on a trip to major capital cities, at different moments in time: Renaissance Florence, Golden Age Madrid, Colonial Mexico City, Enlightenment and Romantic Paris, Existential and Revolutionary St. Petersburg, Roaring Berlin, Modernist Vienna, and bustling Buenos Aires. While exploring each place in a particular historical moment, we will also consider the relations between culture, power, and social life. How does the cultural life of a country intersect with the political activity of a capital? How do large cities shape our everyday experience, our aesthetic preferences, and our sense of history? Why do some cities become cultural capitals? Primary materials for this course will consist of literary, visual, sociological, and historical documents (in translation); authors we will read include Boccaccio, Dante, Sor Juana, Montesquieu, Baudelaire, Gogol, Irmgard Keun, Freud, and Borges. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Same as: DLCL 100, FRENCH 175, GERMAN 175, HISTORY 206E, ILAC 175, ITALIAN 175, URBANST 153

COMPLIT 101. What Is Comparative Literature?. 5 Units.

How can we best talk about literature? What exactly is literature? What is theory? What is comparison? How do these questions fit into our lives? This course is an introduction to Comparative Literature suitable for all students. We will think about poetry, translation, trans feminism (and more), and we will read Maria Lugones, Etel Adnan, Hortense Spillers, and others. This course will be taught online and asynchronously; there will be recorded lectures, the bulk of the discussion will take place in live small groups, and students will submit regular recorded presentations in addition to writing and revising a paper.

COMPLIT 102. Film Series: Understanding Turkey Through Film. 1-2 Unit.

Join us in our quest to understand the great transformation in Turkey and its impact on its people through cinema. Set against the backdrop of the expansion of capitalism and the fundamental cultural, political and social change in the last decade, the movies in this series tell the uneasy stories of individuals whose lives are affected by this disruptive change. By examining the link between the individual experiences and societal change, the films confront issues such as globalization, gender and racial hierarchies, urban transformation, state repression, male domination, and the women's struggle in Turkey. The course consists of 8 Turkish film screenings each of which will be preceded by an introduction by Dr. Alemdaroglu or Dr. Karahan, artistically, historically and politically contextualizing the films, and will be followed by a Zoom discussion and Q&A session led by invited guest scholars of Anthropology, Film Studies, Political Science, Women and Gender Studies or film directors themselves. The students and interested Stanford community will be provided with the streaming links for the movies at the beginning of each week to screen them on their own time, and the discussion sessions will be held on the scheduled class time on Zoom. All films will be in Turkish with English subtitles.
Same as: COMPLIT 302

COMPLIT 104A. Voice, Dissent, Resistance: Antiracist and Antifascist Discourse and Action. 5 Units.

The rise of right-wing movements in the United States and in Europe signal a resurgence of nativist and ethno-nationalist politics that rely heavily on racism to advance fascist politics. This course will explore these phenomena both in terms of their historical development and their present-day appearances. The goal will be to understand how those involved in anti-racist and anti-fascist struggles have invented, created, and practiced discourses and actions that attempt to resist racism and fascism, and to evaluate their merits and weaknesses. Historical, philosophic, journalistic, and creative writings will be the basis of study. This is an experimental course driven by the urgency of recent political events. Students should have open minds and be willing to help shape the course.
Same as: COMPLIT 304

COMPLIT 107A. Ancient Knowledge, New Frontiers: How the Greek Legacy Became Islamic Science. 3 Units.

What contributions did Arabic and Islamic civilization make to the history of science? This course will read key moments in Greek and Islamic science and philosophy and ask questions about scientific method, philosophy, and religious belief. We will read Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Haytham, and Baha al-Din al-Amili, among others. What is the scientific method and is it universal across time and place? What is Islamic rationality? What is Greek rationality? Who commits to empiricism and who relies on inherited ideas? This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Same as: CLASSICS 47, HUMCORE 121

COMPLIT 10N. Shakespeare and Performance in a Global Context. 3 Units.

Preference to freshmen. The problem of performance including the performance of gender through the plays of Shakespeare. In-class performances by students of scenes from plays. The history of theatrical performance. Sources include filmed versions of plays, and readings on the history of gender, gender performance, and transvestite theater. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade. In AY 2020-21, a 'CR' grade will satisfy the WAYS requirement.

COMPLIT 111Q. Texts and Contexts: Spanish/English Literary Translation Workshop. 4 Units.

This course introduces students to the theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to translate literary texts from Spanish to English and English to Spanish. Students will workshop and revise a translation project throughout the quarter. Topics may include comparative syntaxes, morphologies, and semantic systems; register and tone; audience; the role of translation in the development of languages and cultures; and the ideological and socio-cultural forces that shape translations.
Same as: DLCL 111Q, ILAC 111Q

COMPLIT 115. Vladimir Nabokov: Displacement and the Liberated Eye. 3-5 Units.

How did the triumphant author of "the great American novel" Lolita evolve from the young author writing at white heat for the tiny sad Russian emigration in Berlin? We will read his short stories and the novels The Luzhin Defense, Invitation to a Beheading, Lolita, Lolita the film, and Pale Fire, to see how Nabokov generated his sinister-playful forms as a buoyant answer to the "hypermodern" visual and film culture of pre-WWII Berlin, and then to America's all-pervading postwar "normalcy" in his pathological comic masterpieces Lolita and Pale Fire. Buy texts in translation at the Bookstore; Slavic grad students will supplement with reading and extra sessions in original Russian.
Same as: COMPLIT 315, SLAVIC 156, SLAVIC 356

COMPLIT 118. The Gothic in Literature and Culture. 3-5 Units.

This course introduces students to the major features of Gothic narrative, a form that emerges at the same time as the Enlightenment, and that retains its power into our present. Surveying Gothic novels, as well as novellas and short stories with Gothic elements, we will learn about the defining features of the form and investigate its meaning in the cultural imagination. Gothic narratives, the course will suggest, examine the power of irrational forces in a secular age: forces that range from barbaric human practices, to supernatural activity, to the re-enchantment of modern existence. We will also consider the importance for Gothic authors and readers of the relation among narrative. spectacle and the visual arts. Primary works may include Ann Radcliffe's <e>The Italian, Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey</e>, Victor Hugo's <e>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</e>, E.T.A. Hoffman's <e>The Sandman</e>, Mary Shelly's <e>Frankenstein</e>, and Edgar Allen Poe's <e>The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym</e>. We may also do a section on vampires, including Bram Stoker's <e>Dracula</e>, and its remake in film by F.W. Murnau and Werner Herzog. Critical selections by Edmund Burke, Sigmund Freud, Walter Benjamin, Michel Foucault, and Terry Castle, among others.
Same as: ENGLISH 138E

COMPLIT 119. The Turkish Novel. 3-5 Units.

Designed as a survey, this course will examine the modern Turkish novel from the early days of the Republic to the present day. We will examine the aesthetic, political, and social aspects of the Turkish novel by reading major samples of national, historical, philosophical, village, and modernist novels. Discussions will be conducted in English. Students will have an option to read the primary sources in Turkish or in English. Contact Burcu Karahan for meeting time and place.
Same as: COMPLIT 319

COMPLIT 11Q. Shakespeare, Playing, Gender. 3 Units.

Preference to sophomores. Focus is on several of the best and lesser known plays of Shakespeare, on theatrical and other kinds of playing, and on ambiguities of both gender and playing gender.

COMPLIT 121. Poems, Poetry, Worlds. 5 Units.

What is poetry? How does it speak in many voices to questions of philosophy, history, society, and personal experience? Why does it matter? The reading and interpretation of poetry in crosscultural comparison as experience, invention, form, sound, knowledge, and part of the world. The readings address poetry of several cultures (Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Occitania, Peru) in comparative relation to that of the English-speaking world, and in light of classic and recent theories of poetry.
Same as: DLCL 141

COMPLIT 122. Literature as Performance. 5 Units.

The purpose of this course is to re-embed great dramatic texts in a history and theory of performance, using Bay Area and Stanford productions, audiovisual materials, and your own trans-medial projects to help us reconceive theater off the page, moving in time, space and thought.
Same as: DLCL 142

COMPLIT 123. The Novel and the World. 5 Units.

The European Design of the Novel. The course will trace the development of the modern literary genre par excellence through some of its great milestones from the 17th century to the present. Works by Cervantes, Austen, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Queirós, Kafka, Woolf, Verga, and Rodoreda.
Same as: DLCL 143

COMPLIT 124C. Napoleon. 3-5 Units.

Who was Napoleon? A fierce patriot or a traitor of the Revolution? A beloved emperor or a merciless dictator? There is not one single or indeed final answer to these questions: in this course we shall learn to make a distinction between the historical figure (his life and actual deeds) and the literary character (how his detractors or enthusiasts represented him). We will explore the multi-faceted representations of Napoleon with a particular focus on his portraits in poems, novels, essays, paintings and sculptures. The syllabus will include readings and excerpts from Balzac, Stendhal, Dumas, Hugo, Thackeray, Tolstoy, Manzoni, Foscolo, Calvino. Taught in English.
Same as: FRENCH 124A

COMPLIT 127B. The Hebrew and Jewish Short Story. 3-5 Units.

Short stories from Israel, the US and Europe including works by Agnon, Kafka, Keret, Castel-Bloom, Kashua, Singer, Benjamin, Freud, biblical myths and more. The class will engage with questions related to the short story as a literary form and the history of the short story. Reading and discussion in English. Optional: special section with readings and discussions in Hebrew. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade. In AY 2020-21, a 'CR' grade will satisfy the WAYS requirement.
Same as: JEWISHST 147B

COMPLIT 128. Literature of the former Yugoslavia. 3-5 Units.

What do Slavoj Zizek, Novak Djokovic, Marina Abramovic, Melania Trump, Emir Kusturica, and the captain of the Croatian national football team have in common? All were born in a country that no longer exists, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945-1992). This course will introduce masterpieces of Yugoslav literature and film, examining the social and political complexities of a multicultural society that collapsed into civil war (i.e. Bosnia, Kosovo) in the 1990s. In English with material available in Serbo-Croatian and Slovenian.
Same as: REES 128, SLAVIC 128

COMPLIT 131. Coming of Age in the Middle Ages. 3-5 Units.

It is often said that adolescence is a modern invention, and that people in earlier times expected children to act like adults as soon as they were physically able to do so. But the literature that survives from the European Middle Ages reveals a deep preoccupation with questions of how to form socially-competent individuals. What role did literature play in disseminating norms and models for adult behavior? This course introduces students to a range of works from 1100 to 1500CE that portray the process of becoming an adult or prescribe what it should look like: behavior manuals, treatises, epic narratives, romances, and literary 'letters' from parents to children. Students gain familiarity with a range of historic genres and develop skills in close reading and critical analysis. Readings are in English.

COMPLIT 132A. Nostalgia as a Global Form. 3 Units.

The course will explore the waves of nostalgia that have swept the globe in the past decades. We will look at contemporary expressions of nostalgia across different media, including literature, cinema, art, spoken word, street art and social media. We will examine nostalgic narratives related to a variety of cultural phenomena such as exile, migration, colonialism, globalization and technological advancements. We will focus on case studies from various countries such as Israel, the former Soviet Union, India and the UK, and explore them in their specific cultural context, while also exploring nostalgia as a global trend of Late Modernity. Our readings will be accompanied by fundamental theoretical texts on nostalgia, including writings by Svetlana Boym, Fred Davis, Zygmunt Bauman and others.

COMPLIT 133A. Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean. 4 Units.

This course explores texts and films from Francophone Africa and the Caribbean in the 20th and 21st centuries. The course will explore the connections between Sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb and the Caribbean through both foundational and contemporary works while considering their engagement with the historical and political contexts in which they were produced. This course will also serve to improve students' speaking and writing skills in French while sharpening their knowledge of the linguistic and conceptual tools needed to conduct literary analysis. The diverse topics discussed in the course will include national and cultural identity, race and class, gender and sexuality, orality and textuality, transnationalism and migration, colonialism and decolonization, history and memory, and the politics of language. Readings include the works of writers and filmmakers such as Djibril Tamsir Niane, Léopold Senghor, Aimé Césaire, Albert Memmi, Patrick Chamoiseau, Leonora Miano, Leila Slimani, Dani Laferrière and Ousmane Sembène. Taught in French. Students are highly encouraged to complete FRENLANG 124 or to successfully test above this level through the Language Center. This course fulfills the Writing in the Major (WIM) requirement.
Same as: AFRICAAM 133, AFRICAST 132, COMPLIT 233A, CSRE 133E, FRENCH 133, JEWISHST 143

COMPLIT 134A. Classics of Persian Literature. 3-5 Units.

Why do poems that were written hundreds of years ago still capture the imagination? How is love configured in the texts of a distant culture? Who sings the tales and who are the heroes? This course offers an introduction to the central works of Persian literature, from the 10th century to the present, across the genres of epic, romance, lyric, and novel. As we become acquainted with texts from a millennium of literary history, we will touch upon questions of performance (music and dance), storytelling, profane and divine love, the nature of spiritual quests, the development of narrative and poetic form, the formal and ethical aspects of translation, and, finally, the meaning of modernity in a non-Western context. Readings include: the Book of Kings by Ferdowsi (d.1020); Layla and Majnun by Nezami (d.1209); The Conference of the Birds by Attar (d.1221); selections from the Masnavi and Divan of Rumi (d.1273); the Rose Garden by Sa`di (d.1292), selections from the Divan of Hafez (d.1390); The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat (d.1951); and selected modern poems. Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 234

COMPLIT 138. Literature and the Brain. 3 Units.

Recent developments in and neuroscience and experimental psychology have transformed the way we think about the operations of the brain. What can we learn from this about the nature and function of literary texts? Can innovative ways of speaking affect ways of thinking? Do creative metaphors draw on embodied cognition? Can fictions strengthen our "theory of mind" capabilities? What role does mental imagery play in the appreciation of descriptions? Does (weak) modularity help explain the mechanism and purpose of self-reflexivity? Can the distinctions among types of memory shed light on what narrative works have to offer?.
Same as: COMPLIT 238, ENGLISH 118, ENGLISH 218, FRENCH 118, FRENCH 218, PSYC 126, PSYCH 118F

COMPLIT 139A. Jaguars and Labyrinths: A Survey of South American Short Fiction. 3-5 Units.

10 South American short stories in 10 weeks. We will read tales of jaguars and octopuses, labyrinthic cities and eerie parks, magicians and mediums, time loops and spatial stretches. Each of the works will offer a unique insight into South American literature, history, and culture. We will focus on 20th and 21st century stories that deal with the future of techno-science, the interaction between Western and indigenous worldviews, the intersection of fiction and reality, the relation between the human and the non-human, and the ecological planetary crisis. Authors include Clarice Lispector, Roberto Bolaño, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, João Guimarães Rosa, Vilém Flusser, and Conceição Evaristo. Taught in English, no previous knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese required. Note: Students with a background in Portuguese and/or Spanish may use this course as a platform to enhance their linguistic proficiency and their close-reading skills in the target languages.
Same as: ILAC 139

COMPLIT 142. The Literature of the Americas. 5 Units.

A wide-ranging overview of the literatures of the Americas inncomparative perspective, emphasizing continuities and crises that are common to North American, Central American, and South American literatures as well as the distinctive national and cultural elements of a diverse array of primary works. Topics include the definitions of such concepts as empire and colonialism, the encounters between worldviews of European and indigenous peoples, the emergence of creole and racially mixed populations, slavery, the New World voice, myths of America as paradise or utopia, the coming of modernism, twentieth-century avant-gardes, and distinctive modern episodes--the Harlem Renaissance, the Beats, magic realism, Noigandres--in unaccustomed conversation with each other.
Same as: AMSTUD 142, CSRE 142, ENGLISH 172E

COMPLIT 142B. Translating Japan, Translating the West. 3-4 Units.

Translation lies at the heart of all intercultural exchange. This course introduces students to the specific ways in which translation has shaped the image of Japan in the West, the image of the West in Japan, and Japan's self-image in the modern period. What texts and concepts were translated by each side, how, and to what effect? No prior knowledge of Japanese language necessary.
Same as: JAPAN 121, JAPAN 221

COMPLIT 145. Reflection on the Other: The Arab Israeli Conflict in Literature and Film. 3-5 Units.

How literary works outside the realm of Western culture struggle with questions such as identity, minority, and the issue of the Other. How the Arab is viewed in Hebrew literature, film and music and how the Jew is viewed in Palestinian works in Hebrew or Arabic (in translation to English). Historical, political, and sociological forces that have contributed to the shaping of these writers' views. Guest lectures about the Jew in Palestinian literature and music. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Same as: AMELANG 126, JEWISHST 106

COMPLIT 147. Facts and Fictions: Writing the New World in Early Modernity. 3-5 Units.

How was knowledge about the colonies in America established? What was the role of fiction in this process? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of literature and history. It provides students with an overview of historical and fictional writings that shaped the early modern imagination about colonial spaces in Europe and the Americas. Students will look into the process whereby poets and novelists made unfamiliar places more familiar to their European and American audiences, as well as into how historians used myths and fictions to build knowledge about those foreign places and cultures. Readings span fictional prose, histories, epic poems, philosophical writings, engravings and maps. Authors may include St. Teresa, Camões, Cervantes, Inca Garcilaso, Catalina de Erauso, Mendes Pinto, Bacon, Sor Juana, Antonio Vieira, and Margaret Cavendish. Students will practice close reading techniques and historical analysis, writing papers combining the two. Texts will be available in English.
Same as: 1500-1700

COMPLIT 148. Transcultural Perspectives of South-East Asian Music and Arts. 2-4 Units.

This course will explore the links between aspects of South-East Asian cultures and their influence on modern and contemporary Western art and literature, particularly in France; examples of this influence include Claude Debussy (Gamelan music), Jacques Charpentier (Karnatak music), Auguste Rodin (Khmer art) and Antonin Artaud (Balinese theater). In the course of these interdisciplinary analyses - focalized on music and dance but not limited to it - we will confront key notions in relation to transculturality: orientalism, appropriation, auto-ethnography, nostalgia, exoticism and cosmopolitanism. We will also consider transculturality interior to contemporary creation, through the work of contemporary composers such as Tran Kim Ngoc, Chinary Ung and Tôn-Thât Tiêt. Viewings of sculptures, marionette theater, ballet, opera and cinema will also play an integral role. To satisfy a Ways requirement, this course must be taken for at least 3 units. In AY 2020-21, a letter grade or `CR¿ grade satisfies the Ways requirement. WIM credit in Music at 4 units and a letter grade.
Same as: COMPLIT 267, FRENCH 260A, MUSIC 146N, MUSIC 246N

COMPLIT 149. The Laboring of Diaspora & Border Literary Cultures. 3-5 Units.

Focus is given to emergent theories of culture and on comparative literary and cultural studies. How do we treat culture as a social force? How do we go about reading the presence of social contexts within cultural texts? How do ethno-racial writers re-imagine the nation as a site with many "cognitive maps" in which the nation-state is not congruent with cultural identity? How do diaspora and border narratives/texts strive for comparative theoretical scope while remaining rooted in specific local histories. Note: This course must be taken for a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit. In AY 2020-21, a "CR" grade will satisfy the WAYS requirement.
Same as: CSRE 149, ILAC 149

COMPLIT 154A. Film & Philosophy. 3 Units.

Issues of authenticity, morality, personal identity, and the value of truth explored through film; philosophical investigation of the filmic medium itself. Screenings to include Blade Runner (Scott), Do The Right Thing (Lee), The Seventh Seal (Bergman), Fight Club (Fincher), La Jetée (Marker), Memento (Nolan), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Kaufman). Taught in English.
Same as: ENGLISH 154F, FRENCH 154, ITALIAN 154, PHIL 193C, PHIL 293C

COMPLIT 155A. The Mafia in Society, Film, and Fiction. 4 Units.

The mafia has become a global problem through its infiltration of international business, and its model of organized crime has spread all over the world from its origins in Sicily. At the same time, film and fiction remain fascinated by a romantic, heroic vision of the mafia. Compares both Italian and American fantasies of the Mafia to its history and impact on Italian and global culture. Taught in English.
Same as: ITALIAN 155

COMPLIT 159. Asian American Film and Popular Culture. 4 Units.

Tracing the evolution of Asian American cultural representations from the silent film era through the first generation of Asian American YouTube stars, this course examines the economic, political, and cultural influence of Asian American screen images on U.S. society. Through a focus on both mainstream and independent productions, we discuss the work of Asian American actors, audience members, media producers, consumers, and activists. Possible films and TV shows to be discussed include The Cheat (1915), Shanghai Express (1932), Flower Drum Song (1961), Chan is Missing (1983) Fall of the I Hotel (1983), Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1989), Sa-I-Gu, (1992), Saving Face (2004) Crazy Rich Asians (2018), To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018), TV episodes of the Mindy Project, and work by early Asian American YouTube stars including Michelle Phan, HappySlip, and KevJumba.
Same as: AMSTUD 115, ASNAMST 115

COMPLIT 161E. Narrative and Narrative Theory. 5 Units.

An introduction to stories and storytelling--that is, to narrative. What is narrative? When is narrative fictional and when non-fictional? How is it done, word by word, sentence by sentence? Must it be in prose? Can it be in pictures? How has storytelling changed over time? Focus on various forms, genres, structures, and characteristics of narrative. nEnglish majors must take this class for 5 units.
Same as: ENGLISH 161

COMPLIT 178. Metamorphosis and Desire: Spenser, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Milton. 1-5 Unit.

A recurring motif in the myths of poetry's origins is a metamorphosis provoked by erotic desire, from the nymph Daphne transformed into a laurel tree as she escapes the god Apollo to the bard Orpheus dismembered by impassioned Maenads. This course explores the entanglement of these themes in Renaissance verse across plays by Shakespeare, epic poetry by Spenser and Milton, and narrative poems by Marlowe, Shakespeare, and their contemporaries in continental Europe. We will situate these works amid critical perspectives on desire, love, and gendered subjectivity in early modernity and against the classical background of Ovid's 'Metamorphoses', whose tales of eroticism and transformation shaped so much of Renaissance literary and artistic production.

COMPLIT 179. Rumi: Rhythms of Creation. 3-5 Units.

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the thought, poetics, and legacy of one of the towering figures of Persian letters, Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273). After discussing the literary ancestors (Sana'i, `Attar), we will trace the mystico-philosophical foundations of Rumi's thought through close readings of the lyrical (Divan-e Shams) and narrative poems (Mathnavi-ye ma`navi), the prose works (Fihe ma fihe), and the letters. Literary analyses will be followed by an exploration of music as a structuring principle in Rumi's work and the role of sama` (spiritual audition) as a poetic practice. From there, we will look at the ritual and symbolism of the dervish dance, the foundation of the Mevlevi order, the interconnectedness of space (architecture) and poetic form that is exemplified in the Mevlevi dervish lodges, and the literary and philosophical echoes of Rumi in Ottoman culture, above all Seyh Galip's masterpiece Hüsn ü Ask (1782). The course will be complemented by digressions on Rumi in contemporary Persian and Turkish music, including live musical performances. Open to undergraduates and graduates. Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 249

COMPLIT 181. Philosophy and Literature. 3-5 Units.

What, if anything, does reading literature do for our lives? What can literature offer that other forms of writing cannot? Can fictions teach us anything? Can they make people more moral? Why do we take pleasure in tragic stories? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. It addresses key questions about the value of literature, philosophical puzzles about the nature of fiction and literary language, and ways that philosophy and literature interact. Readings span literature, film, and philosophical theories of art. Authors may include Sophocles, Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Proust, Woolf, Walton, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Students master close reading techniques and philosophical analysis, and write papers combining the two. This is the required gateway course for the Philosophy and Literature major tracks. Majors should register in their home department.
Same as: CLASSICS 42, ENGLISH 81, FRENCH 181, GERMAN 181, ILAC 181, ITALIAN 181, PHIL 81, SLAVIC 181

COMPLIT 183. Self-Impersonation: Autobiography, Memoir, Fictional Autobiography. 5 Units.

This course will examine the intersecting genres of fiction, autobiography, and memoir. Topics will include the literary construction of selfhood and its constituent categories; the role of language in the development of the self; the relational nature of the self (vis-à-vis the family, "society," nation, God); the cultural status of "individuality"; conceptions of childhood; and the role of individual testimony in our understanding of family, religious and cultural identity. In addition to short theoretical works, authors may include: Marguerite Duras; Elena Ferrante; Sam Shepard; Gertrude Stein; Karl Ove Knausgaard; Marcel Proust; Vladimir Nabokov; Primo Levi; Roland Barthes; and J. M. Coetzee.
Same as: ENGLISH 183E

COMPLIT 184. READING RUMI. 3-5 Units.

Introduction to the work of Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273) in the original Persian. Through close readings of the poems and prose texts we will explore the ways in which Rumi's thought informs his poetic language and continues to resonate with us today. Topics to be touched upon in connection with the primary texts include: Islamic philosophy; theories of literature in the Arabo-Persian world; poetic genres in medieval Persian literature; meter, rhyme, and metaphor; and, finally, fundamental questions of translation and translatability. Special emphasis will be placed on understanding Rumi within the historical context. Readings in Persian. Two years of Persian at Stanford or equivalent required. Counts for the Persian track in the MELLAC minor.

COMPLIT 188. In Search of the Holy Grail: Percival's Quest in Medieval Literature. 3-5 Units.

This course focuses on one of the most famous inventions of the Middle Ages: the Holy Grail. The grail - a mysterious vessel with supernatural properties - is first mentioned in Chrétien de Troyes' "Perceval," but the story is soon rewritten by authors who alter the meaning of both the grail and the quest. By reading three different versions, we will explore how they respond differently to major topics in medieval culture and relevant to today: romantic love, family ties, education, moral guilt, and spiritual practice. The texts are: Chrétien de Troyes' "Perceval," Wolfram von Eschenbach's "Parzival," and the anonymous "Queste del Saint Graal." All readings will be available in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 388, GERMAN 188, GERMAN 388

COMPLIT 194. Independent Research. 1-5 Unit.

(Staff).

COMPLIT 199. Senior Seminar. 5 Units.

What is criticism? When we interpret literature today, are we fulfilling the critical vocation? What are the alternatives? We consider the origins of the idea of the critic in nineteenth-century culture, its development in the twentieth century, and its current exponents, revisionists, and dissenters. Senior seminar for Comparative Literature Senior majors only.

COMPLIT 204A. Digital Humanities Across Borders. 3-5 Units.

What if you could take a handwritten manuscript, or a pile of 100 books, and map all the locations that are referenced, or see which characters interact with one another, or how different translators adapted the same novel -- without reading through each text to manually compile those lists? Digital humanities tools and methods make it possible, but most tools and tutorials assume the texts are in English. If you work with text (literature, historical documents, fanfic, tweets, or any other textual material) in languages other than English, DLCL 204 is for you. In 1:1 consultation with the instructor, you'll chart your own path based on the language you're working with, the format of the text, and what questions you'd like to try to answer. No previous programming or other technical experience is required, just a reading knowledge of a language other than English (modern or historical). We'll cover the whole process of using digital tools, from start to finish: text acquisition, text enrichment, and analysis/visualization, all of which have applications in a wide range of job contexts within and beyond academia. You'll also have the chance to hear from scholars who are doing digital humanities work in non-English languages, about their experience working across the technical and linguistic borders within their discipline, and within the broader DH community. While this course will be online and primarily asynchronous, there will be opportunities for students to meet synchronously throughout the quarter in language- and tool-based affinity groups.
Same as: DLCL 204, ENGLISH 204

COMPLIT 207. Why is Climate Change Un-believable? Interdisciplinary Approaches to Environmental Action. 5 Units.

The science is there. The evidence is there. Why do people still refuse to recognize one of the greatest threats to human existence? Why can't, why won't they believe the truth? The time to act is slowly evaporating before our eyes. To answer this question requires an interdisciplinary approach that investigates many of the ways global warming has been analyzed, imagined, represented, and evaluated. Thus we welcome students of any major willing to embark on this common project and to participate fully. We will challenge ourselves to move between and amongst texts that are familiar and those we will bring into the conversation. There will be much that we miss, but we hope this course will at least begin a serious conversation in a unique way. The course will run on two parallel tracks: on the one hand, we will delve into textual representations and arguments; on the other hand, we will attempt to develop a sensibility for how climate change makes itself manifest in the physical world through a series of workshops and site visits in the Bay Area. The first track of this course will center on the discussion of three science fiction novels: The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh, The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. The second track of this course is comprised of a series of workshops that aims to develop spatial and material literacy relevant to climate change awareness. It will engage topics such as: scale, atmosphere, measure, material reciprocity, and garbage repurposing. One of the primary goals of this course is to not only understand the problem of climate change, but also how to best act upon it. Thus the required final assignment for this class can be a recommendation for action based on a critical review of the topic of climate change and already existing activism. It can take the form of a paper, a video, an installation art project, a podcast, etc.. But in all cases your work must analytically engage the specific medium of literary expression.

COMPLIT 208. The Cosmopolitan Introvert: Modern Greek Poetry and its Itinerants. 3-5 Units.

Overview of the last century of Greek poetry with emphasis on modernism. Approximately 20 modern Greek poets (starting with Cavafy and Nobel laureates Seferis and Elytis and moving to more modern writers) are read and compared to other major European and American writers. The themes of the cosmopolitan itinerant and of the introvert, often co-existing in the same poet, connect these idiosyncratic voices. The course uses translations and requires no knowledge of Greek but original texts can also be shared with interested students. Note: The course is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.

COMPLIT 210. Poetic Forms. 4 Units.

A comparative discussion of the development and history of major poetic forms, from the Sonnet to Terza Rima and to prose poems. Special attention will be given discussing different rhythms and rhymes, and to translating forms. The readings will include poems by French, Yiddish, English/American and Hebrew writers. Part of the work will include experimenting with writing and/or translating poems that follow the poetic forms that are discussed in class.

COMPLIT 218A. Japanese Performance Traditions. 2-5 Units.

Japanese performance traditions present a distinct challenge to modern Western concepts of gender, performance, self-expression, and even the human body itself. This course introduces the socio-historical underpinnings of these traditions, and invites students to engage in a fundamental questioning of the relationship between performance, gender, and cross-cultural interpretation. This course is designed for students with interests in performance, gender, and media as well as those with an interest in Japan. Genres covered include Noh, Kabuki, Bunraku, and Butoh.
Same as: JAPAN 141, JAPAN 241

COMPLIT 220. Renaissance Africa. 3-5 Units.

Literature and Portuguese expansion into Africa during the sixteenth century. Emphasis on forms of exchange between Portuguese and Africans in Morocco, Angola/Congo, South Africa, the Swahili Coast, and Ethiopia. Readings in Portuguese and English. Taught in English.
Same as: AFRICAST 220E, ILAC 220E, ILAC 320E

COMPLIT 222A. Myth and Modernity. 3-5 Units.

Masters of German 20th- and 21st-Century literature and philosophy as they present aesthetic innovation and confront the challenges of modern technology, social alienation, manmade catastrophes, and imagine the future. Readings include Nietzsche, Freud, Rilke, Musil, Brecht, Kafka, Doeblin, Benjamin, Juenger, Arendt, Musil, Mann, Adorno, Celan, Grass, Bachmann, Bernhardt, Wolf, and Kluge. Taught in English. Note for German Studies grad students: GERMAN 322 will fulfill the grad core requirement since GERMAN 332 is not being offered this year. NOTE: Enrollment requires Professor Eshel's consent. Please contact him directly at eshel@stanford.edu and answer these 2 questions: "Why do you want to take this course?" and "What do you think you can add to the discussion?" Applications will be considered in the order in which they were received. Enrollment is limited to 20 students.
Same as: GERMAN 222, GERMAN 322, JEWISHST 242G, JEWISHST 342

COMPLIT 225. Word and Image. 3-5 Units.

What impact do images have on our reading of a text? How do words influence our understanding of images or our reading of pictures? What makes a visual interpretation of written words or a verbal rendering of an image successful? These questions will guide our investigation of the manifold connections between words and images in this course on intermediality and the relations and interrelations between writing and art from classical antiquity to the present. Readings and discussions will include such topics as the life and afterlife in word and image of Ovid's "Metamorphoses," Dante's "Divine Comedy," Ludovico Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso," and John Milton's "Paradise Lost;" the writings and creative production of poet-artists Michelangelo Buonarroti, William Blake, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti; innovations in and correspondences between literature and art in the modern period, from symbolism in the nineteenth century through the flourishing of European avant-garde movements in the twentieth century.
Same as: ARTHIST 265A, ARTHIST 465A, ITALIAN 265, ITALIAN 365

COMPLIT 228. Critical Translation Studies. 3-5 Units.

Seminal works of translation theory and scholarship from a wide array of disciplinary, regional, linguistic, and historical perspectives. Readings are in English, but students must have at least two years of training or the equivalent in another language, or permission from the instructor. (Important note: Students who wish to count this course toward requirements in the department of East Asian Languages and Cultures must have permission from their EALC advisor.).
Same as: JAPAN 123, JAPAN 223

COMPLIT 229B. Camus. 4-5 Units.

"The admirable conjunction of a man, of an action, and of a work" for Sartre, "the ideal husband of contemporary letters" for Susan Sontag, reading "Camus's fiction as an element in France's methodically constructed political geography of Algeria" for Edward Said, Camus embodies the very French figure of the "intellectuel engagé," or public intellectual. From his birth in 1913 into a poor European family in Algeria to the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957, from the Mediterranean world to Paris, Camus engaged in the great ethical and political battles of his time, often embracing controversial positions. Through readings and films, we will explore his multiple legacies. Readings from Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Assia Djebar, Kamel Daoud, Mouloud Feraoun, Alice Kaplan, Edward Said, Edwidge Danticat. Students will work on their production of written French, in addition to speaking French and reading comprehension. Taught in French. Students are highly encouraged to complete FRENLANG 124 or to successfully test above this level through the Language Center. This course fulfills the Writing in the Major (WIM) requirement.
Same as: CSRE 129, FRENCH 129, HISTORY 235F

COMPLIT 231B. Cultural Hybridity in Central-Eastern Europe. 2-5 Units.

Historically shaped by shifting borders and mixing of various cultures and languages, identities in-between have been in abundance in Central-Eastern Europe. This course offers a comprehensive study of the oeuvre of several major Central-European authors of modernity: the Ukrainian-Russian Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852), the Czech-German-Jewish Franz Kafka (1883-1924), the Austrian-Galician-Jewish Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836-1895), the Ukrainian-Galician Olha Kobylyans¿ka (1863-1942), the Russian-German Lou Andreas-Salomé (1861-1937), the Jewish-Polish-Galician Bruno Schulz (1892-1942), and the Polish-Argentinean Witold Gombrowicz (1904-1969). Performing their selves in two or more cultures, these writers were engaged in identity games and produced hybrid texts with which they intervened into the major culture as others. In the course, we will apply post-structuralist and post-colonial concepts such as minor language, heterotopia, in-betweenness, mimicry, indeterminacy, exile, displacement, and transnationalism to the study of the writers oeuvres. We will also master the sociolinguistic analysis of such multi-lingual phenomena as self-translation, code-switching, and calquing and examine various versions of the same text to uncover the palimpsest of hybrid identities.
Same as: SLAVIC 160, SLAVIC 360

COMPLIT 233A. Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean. 4 Units.

COMPLIT 234. Classics of Persian Literature. 3-5 Units.

COMPLIT 236. Literature and Transgression. 3-5 Units.

Close reading and analysis of erotic-sexual and aesthetic-stylistic transgression in selected works by such authors as Baudelaire, Wilde, Flaubert, Rachilde, Schnitzler, Kafka, Joyce, Barnes, Eliot, Bataille, Burroughs, Thomas Mann, Kathy Acker, as well as in recent digital literature and online communities. Along with understanding the changing cultural, social, and political contexts of what constitutes "transgression" or censorship, students will gain knowledge of influential theories of transgression and conceptual limits by Foucault, Blanchot, and contemporary queer and feminist writers.
Same as: FEMGEN 236

COMPLIT 236A. Casablanca - Algiers - Tunis : Cities on the Edge. 3-5 Units.

Casablanca, Algiers and Tunis embody three territories, real and imaginary, which never cease to challenge the preconceptions of travelers setting sight on their shores. In this class, we will explore the myriad ways in which these cities of North Africa, on the edge of Europe and of Africa, have been narrated in literature, cinema, and popular culture. Home to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, they are an ebullient laboratory of social, political, religious, and cultural issues, global and local, between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. We will look at mass images of these cities, from films to maps, novels to photographs, sketching a new vision of these magnets as places where power, social rituals, legacies of the Ottoman and French colonial pasts, and the influence of the global economy collude and collide. Special focus on class, gender, and race.
Same as: AFRICAAM 236B, CSRE 140S, FRENCH 236, FRENCH 336, HISTORY 245C, URBANST 140F

COMPLIT 237. Fascism after Fascism. 3-5 Units.

When World War II ended, most of the states that described themselves as "fascist" ended with it. Nevertheless, fascism haunted postwar democracy as an ever-present threat. The question of what exactly had characterized fascism, and what parts of it persisted within liberal democracies themselves, were continuously and contentiously debated. This question has emerged all the more forcefully in recent years as "illiberal," or "right-wing populist," movements and governments have begun to question the basic premises of liberal democracy. What was fascism, and what would it mean for it to return? This course considers writings by philosophers, historians, journalists and writers, and moves from early anti-fascist writings to critiques of online movements and neo-reactionaries.
Same as: GERMAN 237

COMPLIT 238. Literature and the Brain. 3 Units.

Recent developments in and neuroscience and experimental psychology have transformed the way we think about the operations of the brain. What can we learn from this about the nature and function of literary texts? Can innovative ways of speaking affect ways of thinking? Do creative metaphors draw on embodied cognition? Can fictions strengthen our "theory of mind" capabilities? What role does mental imagery play in the appreciation of descriptions? Does (weak) modularity help explain the mechanism and purpose of self-reflexivity? Can the distinctions among types of memory shed light on what narrative works have to offer?.
Same as: COMPLIT 138, ENGLISH 118, ENGLISH 218, FRENCH 118, FRENCH 218, PSYC 126, PSYCH 118F

COMPLIT 239. Queer Theory. 3-5 Units.

Do we really need a theory in order to be queer? Queer Theory emerged in response to feminist thought, and the study of the history of sexuality, building on their insights, but also uncovering their blind spots. Without Queer Theory, few of the discourses around desire, power and gender identity that we take for granted on college campuses today would exist. Yet there is also a real risk that reality has left the theory behind. In this course, we will try to answer the question: What do we need queer theory for? Do we still need it? And if so, of what kind? The course is designed to introduce students to core texts of queer theory, and to connect them to current debates, be this around trans rights, the representation of homosexuality or the fight against campus sexual assault.
Same as: FEMGEN 239, GERMAN 239

COMPLIT 243. The Age of Beloveds: Inflections of Desire in Persian and Ottoman Literature. 3-5 Units.

This course follows the trajectory of Islamicate love poetry from its emergence in medieval Persian letters to the court of the Ottoman Sultans. Our point of departure will be the emergence of a unique doctrine of love in Persian literature between the 11th and the 14th centuries, from the confluence of courtly, romantic and mystical ideas. Tracing the gradual imbrication of sacred and profane desire, we will study the advice on marital love in early Mirrors for Princes, the exaltation of heterosexual love in romances, the recasting of love in the context of a mystical erotology, and, finally, the enduring legacy of this discourse of love in ghazal poetry. We will then explore the theme of love, oscillating between heterosexual, homoerotic, and mystical in Ottoman lyric poetry by Sufi, Sultan, and woman poets, spreading over four hundred years until the 19th century. In looking at these texts, we will touch upon questions regarding the ideals and realities of love in Persian and Ottoman society, the protean nature and all-encompassing scope of longing in Perso-Ottoman letters, and the metaphysical implications of the hierarchical structure underlying the Persianate codes of love. Open to undergraduates and graduates. Taught in English.

COMPLIT 243A. From Idol to Equal: Changing Images of Love in 20th-Century Persian and Turkish Literature. 3-5 Units.

This course will explore the changing images of love in pivotal works of modern Persian and Turkish literature. Classes will include close readings and discussions of poems, short stories, and plays with particular attention to the constellation of lover/beloved, the theme of romantic love, and the cultural and historical background of these elements. Our starting point will be the adoption of the novel as a form in the late 19th century. From there, we will explore different figurations of love in key texts of the 20th century up to the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1978) and the coup d'état in Turkey (1980). Themes will include the end of empire and the demise of the concubine, the portrayal of the homeland as lover, secularization and the lifting of the veil, the figure of the female pioneer, the conflict of western and eastern morals, the prostitute as a new paradigm, the emergence of female writers, and avantgarde conceptions of love. Open to undergraduate and graduate students. All readings and discussions will be in English.

COMPLIT 243B. Advanced Readings in Arabic Literature and Science II. 3-5 Units.

Advanced reading in Arabic literature (adab) and science (`ilm) for graduate students. Open to undergraduates with four years or more of Arabic.

COMPLIT 243G. Advanced Readings in Arabic Literature and Science I. 3-5 Units.

Advanced reading in Arabic literature (adab) and science (`ilm) for graduate students. Open to undergraduates with four years or more of Arabic.

COMPLIT 244. Modern Persian Poetry. 3-5 Units.

Drawing on poems, songs, and films in addition to theoretical texts, this course retraces the struggle for a modern poetic language in Iran from the time of the Constitutional Revolution (1905/6) to the Islamic Revolution (1978/79), and beyond. Topics include: the unresolved relationship between tradition and modernity; poetry as a vehicle of enlightenment and revolution; the quest for a new poetic expression of love; the emerging possibility of a female voice in Persian poetry; the construction of historical memory through literature; responses to the experience of modern alienation; the figure of the poet as dissident; and the subversive force of poetic form itself. Poets to be read are Iraj, Bahar, Nima, Shamlu, Sepehri, Akhavan Sales, Forugh, and Esma'il Kho'i as well as some non-canonical figures. Open to undergraduates and graduates. Taught in English.

COMPLIT 245. Introductory Ottoman Turkish. 1-3 Unit.

This course is an introduction to basic orthographic conventions and grammatical characteristics of Ottoman Turkish through readings in printed material from the 19th and 20th centuries. Selected readings will range from poetry to prose, from state documents, newspaper and journal articles to reference works. Course is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Prior knowledge of modern Turkish is required (Completion of COMPLIT 248A, COMPLIT 248B Reading Turkish I&II and COMPLIT 248C Advanced Turkish OR AMELANG 184 & 185 First & Second Year Turkish OR a solid knowledge of Turkish grammar.) Please contact the instructor for more information.

COMPLIT 245A. Arabic Cultures/Conversations. 1 Unit.

Arabic Cultures in Conversations. We will meet once a week for an hour to talk in Arabic about poetry, music, and culture.

COMPLIT 248A. Reading Turkish I. 2-4 Units.

Reading Turkish I is an introduction to the structures of the Turkish language necessary for reading. It is designed to develop reading competence in Turkish for graduate students. Undergraduates should consult the instructor before enrolling for the course. Essential grammar, syntax points, vocabulary, and reading skills will be emphasized. This is not a traditional language course that takes an integrated four-skill approach; since the goal is an advanced reading level, the focus is mainly on grammar, reading comprehension, and translation. With full concentration on reading, we will be able to cover advanced material in a short amount of time. The course is conducted in English, but students will be exposed to the sounds of Turkish, and will have the opportunity to practice pronunciation in class. NOTE: COMPLIT 248A Reading Turkish I is followed by COMPLIT 248B Reading Turkish II in the Winter and COMPLIT 248C Advanced Turkish for Research in the Spring.

COMPLIT 248B. Reading Turkish II. 2-4 Units.

This course is the continuation of COMPLIT 248A Reading Turkish I, which served as an introduction to the structures of the Turkish language necessary for reading. It is designed to develop reading competence in Turkish for graduate students. Undergraduates should consult the instructor before enrolling for the course. Essential grammar, syntax points, vocabulary, and reading skills will be emphasized. This is not a traditional language course that takes an integrated four-skill approach; it focuses only on reading, and as a result we will be able to cover advanced material in a short amount of time. This course is conducted in English, but students will be exposed to the sounds of Turkish, and will have the opportunity to practice pronunciation in class. COMPLIT 248B is followed by COMPLIT 248C Advanced Turkish for Research in the Spring.

COMPLIT 248C. Advanced Turkish-English Translation. 2-4 Units.

This course is the continuation of COMPLIT 248A Reading Turkish I and COMPLIT 248B Reading Turkish II. Refining advanced grammar, reading, and translation skills in modern Turkish through intensive reading and translation from a variety of source texts. Emphasis on Turkish cultural, historical, literary, and political texts depending on students' academic interests. Prerequisites COMPLIT 248A & B or prior knowledge of Turkish and consultation with the instructor is necessary.

COMPLIT 249. Rumi: Rhythms of Creation. 3-5 Units.

COMPLIT 249A. The Iranian Cinema: Image and Meaning. 1-3 Unit.

This course will focus on the analysis of ten Iranian films with the view of placing them in discourse on the semiotics of Iranian art and culture. The course will also look at the influence of a wide array of cinematic traditions from European, American, and Asian masters on Iranian cinema. Note: To satisfy a Ways requirement, this course must be taken for at least 3 units. In AY 2020-21, a letter grade or 'CR' grade satisfies the Ways requirement.
Same as: GLOBAL 249A

COMPLIT 249B. Iranian Cinema in Diaspora. 1-3 Unit.

Despite enormous obstacles, immigrant Iranian filmmakers, within a few decades (after the Iranian Revolution), have created a slow but steady stream of films outside Iran. They were originally started by individual spontaneous attempts from different corners of the world and by now we can identify common lines of interest amongst them. There are also major differences between them. These films have never been allowed to be screened inside Iran, and without any support from the global system of production and distribution, as independent and individual attempts, they have enjoyed little attention. Despite all this, Iranian cinema in exile is in no sense any less important than Iranian cinema inside Iran. In this course we will view one such film, made outside Iran, in each class meeting and expect to reach a common consensus in identifying the general patterns within these works and this movement. Questions such as the ones listed below will be addressed in our meetings each week: What changes in aesthetics and point of view of the filmmaker are caused by the change in his or her work environment? Though unwantedly these films are made outside Iran, how related are they to the known (recognized) cinema within Iran? And in fact, to what extent do these films express things that are left unsaid by the cinema within Iran? NOTE: to satisfy a Ways requirement, this course must be taken for at least 3 units. In AY 2020-21, a letter grade or 'CR' grade satisfies the Ways requirement.
Same as: GLOBAL 249B

COMPLIT 249C. Contemporary Iranian Theater. 1-3 Unit.

Today, Iranian plays both in traditional and contemporary styles are staged in theater festivals throughout the world and play their role in forming a universal language of theater which combine the heritages from countries in all five continents. Despite many obstacles, some Iranian plays have been translated into English and some prominent Iranian figures are successful stage directors outside Iran. Forty-six years ago when "Theater in Iran" (a monograph on the history of Iranian plays) by Bahram Beyzaie was first published, it put the then contemporary Iranian theater movement "which was altogether westernizing itself blindly" face to face with a new kind of self-awareness. Hence, today's generation of playwrights and stage directors in Iran, all know something of their theatrical heritage. In this course we will spend some class sessions on the history of theater in Iran and some class meetings will be concentrating on contemporary movements and present day playwrights. Given the dearth of visual documents, an attempt will be made to present a picture of Iranian theater to the student. Students are expected to read the recommended available translated plays of the contemporary Iranian playwrights and participate in classroom discussions. Note: to satisfy a Ways requirement, this course must be taken for at least 3 units. In AY 2020-21, a letter grade or 'CR' grade satisfies the Ways requirement.
Same as: GLOBAL 249C

COMPLIT 252A. Great Arabic Poetry. 3-5 Units.

Introduction to the canon of Arabic poetry from the sixth to the twenty-first century. Imru' al-Qays, al-Mutanabbi, Mahmud Darwish, and more. Readings in Arabic. Two years of Arabic at Stanford or equivalent required. Counts for the Arabic Track in the MELLAC Minor.

COMPLIT 252B. Great Arabic Prose. 3-5 Units.

Introduction to the best Arabic Literature from the 790s to 2016. Al-Jahiz, Naguib Mahfouz, and much more. Readings in Arabic. Two years of Arabic at Stanford or equivalent required. Counts for the Arabic Track in the MELLAC Minor. Note: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit.

COMPLIT 257. Simone Weil, Simone de Beauvoir, Hannah Arendt, and Adriana Cavarero. 3-5 Units.

What does it mean to say the personal is the political, or, in the case of Arendt, that the personal is not political, especially if you are a woman? This course explores how Weil, De Beauvoir, Arendt, and Caverero contend with the question of personhood, in its variegated social, political, ethical, and gendered dimensions. Particular attention will be given to a philosophy of social change and personal transformation, and to the enduring relevance of these women's thought to issues of our day. Texts include selections from "Gravity and Grace," "The Second Sex," "The Ethics of Ambiguity," "The Human Condition," "Between Past and Future," "Stately Bodies," and "Relating Narratives.".
Same as: COMPLIT 357A, FEMGEN 257X, FEMGEN 357X, FRENCH 257, FRENCH 357, ITALIAN 257, ITALIAN 357

COMPLIT 258A. Existentialism, from Moral Quest to Novelistic Form. 3-5 Units.

This seminar intends to follow the development of Existentialism from its genesis to its literary expressions in the European postwar. The notions of defining commitment, of moral ambiguity, the project of the self, and the critique of humanism will be studied in selected texts by Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Unamuno, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Joan Sales.
Same as: ILAC 211, ILAC 311

COMPLIT 263. A History of Silence in Literature. 3-5 Units.

An analysis of theological and mystical texts as well as secular works of poetry and prose, from the Middle Ages to the present, exploring both the specific nature and the philosophical implications of silence in literature. Following a historical trajectory, we will first look at silence in medieval thought: as the necessary silence of apophasy in the works of negative theology and as a memory space in accounts of mystical ascension from the Islamic tradition (Bayazid Bastami). After this will come an examination of various moments in more recent literary history: the silence in face of the sublime that pervades the Romantics; the metaphysical uprooting of Büchner's Lenz (1839) that is captured in the paradox of a silence whose screams reach across the horizon; the fragmentation of Hölderlin's late poetry; the crisis of language described in Hofmannsthal's Chandos Letter (1902), prefiguring Wittgenstein; the dissolution of words as a "language of space devoid of dialogue" in Antonin Artaud; the straining away from existence and speech in Beckett's The Unnamable (1953); and, finally, the silence of the breath turn, as an ethical injunction after the Holocaust in Paul Celan. Open to undergraduates and graduates. Taught in English.

COMPLIT 264. Crossing the Atlantic: Race and Identity in the African Diaspora. 3-5 Units.

This course interrogates the relationship between literature, culture, race and identity in the African diaspora. We will analyze racial discourses through literature, and various forms of cultural expression while examining the role of class and gender in these configurations. As we follow the historical and geographical trajectories of people of African descent in different parts of the world, students will explore literary and political movements with the objective of examining how race has been constructed and is performed in different regions of the diaspora. Our readings will take us from Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyana, France, and Senegal to Cuba, Brazil, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Topics discussed will include: Race, identity, gender, class, memory, oral tradition, Afro-Caribbean religions, Negrismo, Négritude, Antillanité, Créolité, colonialism, modernity and national belonging. Readings will include the works of: Jean Price-Mars, Léopold Senghor, Aimé Césaire, Léon Damas, Frantz Fanon, Nicolás Guillén, Nancy Morejon, Maryse Condé, Patrick Chamoiseau, Edouard Glissant, among others. Taught in English.
Same as: CSRE 265, FRENCH 264

COMPLIT 264T. Race, Gender, Justice. 4 Units.

The question of justice animates some of the most influential classics and contemporary plays in the dramatic canon. We will examine the relationship between state laws and kinship obligations in Sophocles's Antigone. We will trace the transnational circulation of this text and its adaptations in Gambaro's Argentinian Antigona Furiosa, and Fugard and Kani's South African The Island. We will read Shakespeare's Othello and consider questions of racism, misogyny, and intimate partner violence, investigate the reverberations of these themes in the OJ Simpson trial, and explore its afterlife in Toni Morrison's Desdemona. We will take up questions of sexual violence via John Patrick Shanley's Doubt and Ariel Dorfman's Chilean classic, Death and the Maiden. We will examine themes of police brutality and racial vulnerability in Anna Deavere Smith's Twilight and Aleshea Harris's What to Send Up When it Goes Down. Through close readings of plays, we will explore the inter-articulation of intimacy and violence, intimidation and transgression, vengeance and forgiveness within the context of larger struggles for gender and racial justice. We will read plays in light of contemporary reckonings with the US criminal justice system: the #MeToo movement and the Black Lives Matter movement. While the former appeals to the criminal justice system to restore victims¿ rights, the latter urges a thorough dismantling of the carceral state. How do we understand these divergent responses to augment or abolish punitive structures?.
Same as: TAPS 264S

COMPLIT 267. Transcultural Perspectives of South-East Asian Music and Arts. 2-4 Units.

COMPLIT 268. Socialism: Theory, Literature, Practice. 3-5 Units.

The prospect of socialism has circulated in the cultural and political programs of many countries, and socialist programs have informed the real governance structures in some. This course examines some of the theoretical texts that have described socialism as well as critical responses. In addition, the treatment of socialism in literature will be discussed as well as considerations of the outcomes of institutionalized programs. Readings will include texts by authors such as Marx, Lenin, Hayek, Friedman, Koestler, Steinbeck, Wolf, Brauenig, Wright and others.
Same as: GERMAN 268

COMPLIT 281E. Pirandello, Sartre, and Beckett. 3-5 Units.

In this course we will read the main novels and plays of Pirandello, Sartre, and Beckett, with special emphasis on the existentialist themes of their work. Readings include The Late Mattia Pascal, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Henry IV; Nausea, No Exit, "Existentialism is a Humanism"; Molloy, Endgame, Krapp's Last Tape, Waiting for Godot. Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 381E, FRENCH 214, FRENCH 314, ITALIAN 214, ITALIAN 314

COMPLIT 283A. Modern Notions of 'The Holy'. 3-5 Units.

This course explores the question, "What may we call 'holy' in the modern era?" by focusing on key writers and thinkers, who in various ways, and in different times raised this question: Friedrich Hölderlin, Hermann Cohen, Franz Kafka, Martin Heidegger, Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Else Lasker-Schüler, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Hannah Arendt, Margarete Susman, Nelly Sachs, Paul Celan, and Judith Butler.nnThis course will be synchronous-conducted, but will also use an innovative, Stanford-developed, on-line platform called Poetic Thinking. Poetic Thinking allows students to share both their scholarly and creative work with each other. Based on the newest technology and beautifully designed, it will greatly enhance their course experience.
Same as: COMPLIT 383A, GERMAN 283A, GERMAN 383A, RELIGST 283A, RELIGST 383A

COMPLIT 285. Texts and Contexts: French-English Translation. 3-5 Units.

This course introduces students to the ways in which translation has shaped the image of France and the Francophone world. What texts and concepts were translated, how, where, and to what effect? Students will work on a translation project throughout the quarter and translate texts from French to English and English to French. Topics may include the role of translation in the development of cultures; the political dimension of translation, translation in the context of migration, and the socio-cultural frameworks that shape translations. Case studies: Camus, Fanon, Glissant, de Beauvoir, Meddeb, Duras. Prior knowledge of French language required.
Same as: CSRE 285, FRENCH 185, FRENCH 285

COMPLIT 286. Forming the world: Pragmatism and Aesthetics. 3-5 Units.

This course will explore key pragmatist philosophical and theoretical approaches to literature, the visual arts, and music. How are human lives mediated by and through aesthetic experience, in the realm of the private as well as the public. Rather than positing a metaphysical idea of beauty, the thinkers and artists we engage ask how texts and artworks render us sensitive to our multifaceted contingencies, and how we may speak and write about them. Readings and viewings include R. W. Emerson, Friedrich Nietzsche, Emily Dickinson, Martin Heidegger, John Dewey, T. W. Adorno, Hannah Arendt, Richard Rorty, Terrence Malick, J. M. Coetzee, Bruno Latour, Marilynne Robinson, Nancy Fraser, Rita Felski, Tania Bruguera, Yivve Citton, Richard Moose, Cheryl Misak, and Shannon Sullivan, among others.
Same as: GERMAN 286

COMPLIT 290A. Magic, Science, and Religion. 3-5 Units.

With the rise of the human sciences in the later nineteenth century, "magic," "science," and "religion" came to be understood as entirely separate domains, with different versions of truth and divergent methods of inquiry. But how has this division broken down in the past 150 years? How is it, for example, that other people's religion is "merely magic"? How does science still draw on religious categories, in particular to claim the universe is meaningful? How have new forms of magic shaped new age, global culture? We will examine these questions by pairing literary texts with readings from anthropology, history of science, religious studies, and cultural criticism. This course is taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 390A, FRENCH 290, FRENCH 390, ITALIAN 290, ITALIAN 390

COMPLIT 302. Film Series: Understanding Turkey Through Film. 1-2 Unit.

COMPLIT 304. Voice, Dissent, Resistance: Antiracist and Antifascist Discourse and Action. 5 Units.

COMPLIT 307. Proust and His World. 3-5 Units.

This course is a chance to read together Proust's <e>A la recherche du temps perdu</e>. This seven-volume novel is a stylistic tour de force, a brilliant meditation on defining elements of modernity, and an eccentric meander through art, history and the self. We will look closely at Proust's narrative edifice, and its poetic achievements. We will augment our reading of the novel with secondary selections that enable us to explore the many themes and questions raised by the work, ranging from fashion as a serious mode of modern expression to the phenomenology of memory to the decadence of French culture on the eve of the First World War. We'll look at the importance of Proust for structuralist and post-structuralist critics of the 1960s-1980s, whose paradigms continue to resonate today. We'll also consider together the interest and limits of a single-author course, and the value of absorptive, "slow" reading in our multi-tasking era. Supplementary readings might include selections from Charles Baudelaire, John Ruskin, Henri Bergson, Gérard Genette, Gilles Deleuze, Eve Sedgwick, Maurice Samuels, and Caroline Weber. Reading knowledge of French strongly recommended.
Same as: FRENCH 307A

COMPLIT 31. Texts that Changed the World from the Ancient Middle East. 3-5 Units.

This course traces the story of the cradle of human civilization. We will begin with the earliest human stories, the Gilgamesh Epic and biblical literature, and follow the path of the development of law, religion, philosophy and literature in the ancient Mediterranean or Middle Eastern world, to the emergence of Jewish and Christian thinking. We will pose questions about how this past continues to inform our present: What stories, myths, and ideas remain foundational to us? How did the stories and myths shape civilizations and form larger communities? How did the earliest stories conceive of human life and the divine? What are the ideas about the order of nature, and the place of human life within that order? How is the relationship between the individual and society constituted? This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Same as: HUMCORE 111, JEWISHST 150, RELIGST 150

COMPLIT 315. Vladimir Nabokov: Displacement and the Liberated Eye. 3-5 Units.

COMPLIT 316. Scholarship and Activism for Justice. 1 Unit.

In this weekly discussion group we will center on scholarship that addresses issues of social inequity and ways to act for change.

COMPLIT 319. The Turkish Novel. 3-5 Units.

COMPLIT 320A. Epic and Empire. 5 Units.

Focus is on Virgil's Aeneid and its influence, tracing the European epic tradition (Ariosto, Tasso, Camoes, Spenser, and Milton) to New World discovery and mercantile expansion in the early modern period.
Same as: ENGLISH 314

COMPLIT 327. Genres of the Novel. 5 Units.

Provides students with an overview of some major genres in the history of the modern novel, along with major theorists in the critical understanding of the form. Novels might include works by Cervantes, Defoe, Lafayette, Radcliffe, Goethe, Scott, Balzac, Melville, and Woolf. Theorists might include Lukacs, Bakhtin, Jameson, Gallagher, Barthes, Kristeva, and Bourdieu. *PLEASE NOTE: Course for graduate students only.*.
Same as: ENGLISH 327, FRENCH 327

COMPLIT 33. Humanities Core: Global Identity, Culture, and Politics from the Middle East. 3 Units.

How do we face the future? What resources do we have? Which power structures hold us back and which empower us? What are our identities at college in the Bay Area? In 1850s Lebanon, Abu Faris Shidyaq faced all these same questions (except the last one; he was a Christian magazine editor). In this course we will engage with claims about identity, culture, and politics that some might say come from the "Middle East" but that we understand as global. Ganzeer's graphic novel is as much for California as it is for Egypt. Ataturk's speech is about power and identity just like Donald Trump is about power and identity. In Turkish novels and in Arabic poetry, the people we engage in this course look to their pasts and our futures. What happens next? This is the third of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.future.
Same as: DLCL 33, HUMCORE 33

COMPLIT 334A. Concepts of Modernity I: Philosophical Foundations. 5 Units.

In the late eighteenth century, Immanuel Kant proclaimed his epoch to be "the genuine age of criticism." He went on to develop the critique of reason, which set the stage for many of the themes and problems that have preoccupied Western thinkers for the last two centuries. This fall quarter survey is intended as an introduction to these themes and problems. The general course layout draws equal parts on Koselleck's practice of "conceptual history" (Begriffsgeschichte) and on Jameson's "cognitive mapping." After consideration of an important, if often under-appreciated precedent (the baroque), we turn our attention to the conceptual triad of subject, reason and critique, followed by that of revolution, utopia and sovereignty. Authors may include Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Weber, Freud, Lukács, and others. This course is the first of a two-course sequence. Priority to graduate students in MTL, ILAC, and English.
Same as: ILAC 334A, MTL 334A

COMPLIT 334B. Concepts of Modernity II: Culture, Aesthetics, and Society in the Age of Globalization. 5 Units.

Emphasis on world-system theory, theories of coloniality and power, and aesthetic modernity/postmodernity in their relation to culture broadly understood.
Same as: ENGLISH 334B, MTL 334B

COMPLIT 348. US-Mexico Border Fictions: Writing La Frontera, Tearing Down the Wall. 3-5 Units.

A border is a force of containment that inspires dreams of being overcome, crossed, and cursed; motivates bodies to climb over walls; and threatens physical harm. This graduate seminar places into comparative dialogue a variety of perspectives from Chicana/o and Mexican/Latin American literary studies. Our seminar will examine fiction and cultural productions that range widely, from celebrated Mexican and Chicano/a authors such as Carlos Fuentes (La frontera de cristal), Yuri Herrera (Señales que precederan al fin del mundo), Willivaldo Delgaldillo (La Virgen del Barrio Árabe), Américo Paredes (George Washington Gómez: A Mexico-Texan Novel), Gloria Anzaldúa (Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza), and Sandra Cisneros (Carmelo: Puro Cuento), among others, to musicians whose contributions to border thinking and culture have not yet been fully appreciated such as Herb Albert, Ely Guerra, Los Tigres del Norte, and Café Tacvba. Last but not least, we will screen and analyze Orson Welles' iconic border films Touch of Evil and Rodrigo Dorfman's Los Sueños de Angélica. Proposing a diverse and geographically expansive view of the US-Mexico border literary and cultural studies, this seminar links the work of these authors and musicians to struggles for land and border-crossing rights, anti-imperialist forms of trans-nationalism, and to the decolonial turn in border thinking or pensamineto fronterizo. It forces us to take into account the ways in which shifts in the nature of global relations affect literary production and negative aesthetics especially in our age of (late) post-industrial capitalism.
Same as: ILAC 348

COMPLIT 353B. Hannah Arendt: Facing Totalitarianism. 3-5 Units.

Like hardly any other thinker of the modern age, Hannah Arendt's thought offers us timeless insights into the fabric of the modern age, especially regarding the perennial danger of totalitarianism. This course offers an in-depth introduction to Arendt's most important works in their various contexts, as well as a consideration of their reverberations in contemporary philosophy and literature. Readings include Arendt's The Origin of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, Between Past and Future, Men in Dark Times, On Revolution,Eichmann in Jerusalem, and The Life of the Mind, as well as considerations of Hannah Arendt's work by Max Frisch, Jürgen Habermas, Seyla Benhabib, Judith Butler, Giorgio Agamben, and others. Special attention will be given to Arendt's writings on literature with an emphasis on Kafka, Brecht, Auden, Sartre, and Camus. This course will be synchronously conducted, but will also use an innovative, Stanford-developed, online platform called Poetic Thinking. Poetic Thinking allows students to share both their scholarly and creative work with each other. Based on the newest technology and beautifully designed, it greatly enhances their course experience.
Same as: GERMAN 253, GERMAN 353, JEWISHST 243A

COMPLIT 357A. Simone Weil, Simone de Beauvoir, Hannah Arendt, and Adriana Cavarero. 3-5 Units.

What does it mean to say the personal is the political, or, in the case of Arendt, that the personal is not political, especially if you are a woman? This course explores how Weil, De Beauvoir, Arendt, and Caverero contend with the question of personhood, in its variegated social, political, ethical, and gendered dimensions. Particular attention will be given to a philosophy of social change and personal transformation, and to the enduring relevance of these women's thought to issues of our day. Texts include selections from "Gravity and Grace," "The Second Sex," "The Ethics of Ambiguity," "The Human Condition," "Between Past and Future," "Stately Bodies," and "Relating Narratives.".
Same as: COMPLIT 257, FEMGEN 257X, FEMGEN 357X, FRENCH 257, FRENCH 357, ITALIAN 257, ITALIAN 357

COMPLIT 359A. Philosophical Reading Group. 1 Unit.

Discussion of one contemporary or historical text from the Western philosophical tradition per quarter in a group of faculty and graduate students. For admission of new participants, a conversation with Professor Robert Harrison is required. May be repeated for credit. Taught in English.
Same as: FRENCH 395, ITALIAN 395

COMPLIT 368A. Imagining the Oceans. 5 Units.

How has Western culture constructed the world's oceans since the beginning of global ocean exploration? How have imaginative visions of the ocean been shaped by marine science, technology, exploration, commerce and leisure? Primary authors read might include Cook, Banks, Equiano, Ricketts, and Steinbeck; Defoe, Cooper, Verne, Conrad, Woolf and Hemingway; Coleridge, Baudelaire, Moore, Bishop and Walcott. Critical readings include Schmitt, Rediker and Linebaugh, Baucom, Best, Corbin, Auden, Sontag and Heller-Roazen. Films by Sekula, Painlevé and Bigelow. Seminar coordinated with a 2015 Cantor Arts Center public exhibition. Visits to the Cantor; other possible field trips include Hopkins Marine Station and SF Maritime Historical Park. Open to graduate students only.
Same as: ENGLISH 368A, FRENCH 368A

COMPLIT 369. Introduction to the Profession of Literary Studies. 1-2 Unit.

A survey of how literary theory and other methods have been made institutional since the nineteenth century. The readings and conversation are designed for entering Ph.D. students in the national literature departments and comparative literature.
Same as: DLCL 369, FRENCH 369, GERMAN 369, ITALIAN 369

COMPLIT 36A. Dangerous Ideas. 1 Unit.

Ideas matter. Concepts such as revolution, tradition, and hell have inspired social movements, shaped political systems, and dramatically influenced the lives of individuals. Others, like immigration, universal basic income, and youth play an important role in contemporary debates in the United States. All of these ideas are contested, and they have a real power to change lives, for better and for worse. In this one-unit class we will examine these "dangerous" ideas. Each week, a faculty member from a different department in the humanities and arts will explore a concept that has shaped human experience across time and space. Some weeks will have short reading assignments, but you are not required to purchase any materials.
Same as: ARTHIST 36, EALC 36, ENGLISH 71, ETHICSOC 36X, FRENCH 36, HISTORY 3D, MUSIC 36H, PHIL 36, POLISCI 70, RELIGST 36X, SLAVIC 36

COMPLIT 371. Critical Theory and Ecology: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. 2-5 Units.

This class will bring together aesthetics, politics, and art around ecological questions. We will survey the key themes in ecocritical humanities and critiques of anthropocentrism by reading selected chapters from Literature and the Environment (Timothy Clark). We will move on to the Marxist eco critique of capitalist economy, human alienation from nature, alienated labor as well as Frankfurt school critiques of instrumental rationality. Major readings include The Enemy of Nature (Kovel), Creating an Ecological Society (Magdofff and Williams), chapters from The Robbery of Nature (Foster and Clark), and essays by Adorno and Benjamin. Taking a comparative perspective, we will study Chinese eco-narratives such as Waste Tide (Chen Qiufan) and Unfolding Beijing (Hao Jingfang).nnChinese is not required. PhD students are required to write a term paper of 20-25 pages. MA and undergraduate students will write two essays of 8 pages in response to the questions.n nTexts to be purchased. Literature and the Environment (Timothy Clark); Creating an Ecological Society (Magdofff and Williams); The Robbery of Nature (Foster and Clark). The rest of readings are available on Canvas.
Same as: CHINA 371

COMPLIT 377. Medieval Lyric: How Lyric Moves. 3-5 Units.

Through the study of various vernacular premodern traditions, this graduate level course examines the qualities that make texts "lyric" and place them into conversation with contemporary theories of lyric. The course will situate medieval lyric within the critical discourse of poetics, the Global South, the archive, and anachrony. We will consider the movement of verse within and among various material contexts (song, manuscript, artworks, objects, tombstones). Poets considered: troubadours, trouvères, Galician-Portugese cantigas d'amigo, Stilnovists, Dante, Petrarchan poetry, Jean Renart, Charles d'Orléans, Villon, Pound, Brazilian Concrete Poetry.
Same as: FRENCH 377, ITALIAN 377

COMPLIT 37Q. Zionism and the Novel. 3 Units.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Zionism emerged as a political movement to establish a national homeland for the Jews, eventually leading to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. This seminar uses novels to explore the changes in Zionism, the roots of the conflict in the Middle East, and the potentials for the future. We will take a close look at novels by Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, in order to understand multiple perspectives, and we will also consider works by authors from the North America and from Europe. NOTE: To satisfy a WAYS requirement, this course must be taken for at least 3 units. In AY 2020-21, a 'CR' grade will satisfy the WAYS requirement.
Same as: JEWISHST 37Q

COMPLIT 381E. Pirandello, Sartre, and Beckett. 3-5 Units.

In this course we will read the main novels and plays of Pirandello, Sartre, and Beckett, with special emphasis on the existentialist themes of their work. Readings include The Late Mattia Pascal, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Henry IV; Nausea, No Exit, "Existentialism is a Humanism"; Molloy, Endgame, Krapp's Last Tape, Waiting for Godot. Taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 281E, FRENCH 214, FRENCH 314, ITALIAN 214, ITALIAN 314

COMPLIT 383A. Modern Notions of 'The Holy'. 3-5 Units.

This course explores the question, "What may we call 'holy' in the modern era?" by focusing on key writers and thinkers, who in various ways, and in different times raised this question: Friedrich Hölderlin, Hermann Cohen, Franz Kafka, Martin Heidegger, Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Else Lasker-Schüler, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Hannah Arendt, Margarete Susman, Nelly Sachs, Paul Celan, and Judith Butler.nnThis course will be synchronous-conducted, but will also use an innovative, Stanford-developed, on-line platform called Poetic Thinking. Poetic Thinking allows students to share both their scholarly and creative work with each other. Based on the newest technology and beautifully designed, it will greatly enhance their course experience.
Same as: COMPLIT 283A, GERMAN 283A, GERMAN 383A, RELIGST 283A, RELIGST 383A

COMPLIT 388. In Search of the Holy Grail: Percival's Quest in Medieval Literature. 3-5 Units.

COMPLIT 390A. Magic, Science, and Religion. 3-5 Units.

With the rise of the human sciences in the later nineteenth century, "magic," "science," and "religion" came to be understood as entirely separate domains, with different versions of truth and divergent methods of inquiry. But how has this division broken down in the past 150 years? How is it, for example, that other people's religion is "merely magic"? How does science still draw on religious categories, in particular to claim the universe is meaningful? How have new forms of magic shaped new age, global culture? We will examine these questions by pairing literary texts with readings from anthropology, history of science, religious studies, and cultural criticism. This course is taught in English.
Same as: COMPLIT 290A, FRENCH 290, FRENCH 390, ITALIAN 290, ITALIAN 390

COMPLIT 397. Graduate Studies Colloquium. 1 Unit.

Colloquium for graduate students in Comparative Literature. Taught in English. May be repeated for credit.

COMPLIT 398L. Literary Lab. 2-5 Units.

Gathering and analyzing data, constructing hypotheses and designing experiments to test them, writing programs [if needed], preparing visuals and texts for articles or conferences. Requires a year-long participation in the activities of the Lab.
Same as: ENGLISH 398L

COMPLIT 399. Individual Work. 1-15 Unit.

COMPLIT 43. Modernity and Novels in the Middle East. 3 Units.

This course will investigate cultural and literary responses to modernity in the Middle East. The intense modernization process that started in mid 19th century and lingers to this day in the region caused Arabic, Persian, and Turkish literary cultures to encounter rapid changes; borders dissolved, new societies and nations were formed, daily life westernized, and new literary forms took over the former models. In order to understand how writers and individuals negotiated between tradition and modernity and how they adapted their traditions into the modern life we will read both canonical and graphic novels comparatively from each language group and focus on the themes of nation, identity, and gender. All readings will be in English translation. This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Same as: HUMCORE 131

COMPLIT 44. Humanities Core: How to be Modern in East Asia. 3-5 Units.

Modern East Asia was almost continuously convulsed by war and revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries. But the everyday experience of modernity was structured more profoundly by the widening gulf between the country and the city, economically, politically, and culturally. This course examines literary and cinematic works from China and Japan that respond to and reflect on the city/country divide, framing it against issues of class, gender, national identity, and ethnicity. It also explores changing ideas about home/hometown, native soil, the folk, roots, migration, enlightenment, civilization, progress, modernization, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and sustainability. All materials are in English. This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Same as: CHINA 24, HUMCORE 133, JAPAN 24, KOREA 24

COMPLIT 46. Atlantic Folds: Indigeneity and Modernity. 3 Units.

The Atlantic as an infinite doubling of ancient and modern. The Atlantic as an endless, watery cloth of African, American, and European folds, unfolding and refolding through bodies and ideas: blackness, whiteness, nature, nurture, water, blood, cannibal, mother, you, and I. The Atlantic as a concept, a space, a muse, a goddess. The Atlantic as birth and burial. One ocean under God, divisible, with salt enough for all who thirst. Authors include: Paul Gilroy, Gilles Deleuze, Chimamanda Adichie, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Davi Kopenawa, Pepetela, Beyoncé, and José Vasconcelos. This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Same as: HUMCORE 135

COMPLIT 51Q. Comparative Fictions of Ethnicity. 4 Units.

We may "know" "who" we "are," but we are, after all, social creatures. How does our sense of self interact with those around us? How does literature provide a particular medium for not only self expression, but also for meditations on what goes into the construction of "the Self"? After all, don't we tell stories in response to the question, "who are you"? Besides a list of nouns and names and attributes, we give our lives flesh and blood in telling how we process the world. Our course focuses in particular on this question--Does this universal issue ("who am I") become skewed differently when we add a qualifier before it, like "ethnic"? Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Same as: AMSTUD 51Q, CSRE 51Q

COMPLIT 55N. Black Panther, Hamilton, Díaz, and Other Wondrous Lives. 3-5 Units.

This seminar concerns the design and analysis of imaginary (or constructed) worlds for narratives and media such as films, comics, and literary texts. The seminar's primary goal is to help participants understand the creation of better imaginary worlds - ultimately all our efforts should serve that higher purpose. Some of the things we will consider when taking on the analysis of a new world include: What are its primary features - spatial, cultural, biological, fantastic, cosmological? What is the world's ethos (the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize the world)? What are the precise strategies that are used by the artist to convey the world to us and us to the world? How are our characters connected to the world? And how are we - the viewer or reader or player - connected to the world? Note: This course must be taken for a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit. In AY 2020-21, a `CR' grade will satisfy the WAYS requirement.
Same as: CSRE 55N

COMPLIT 57. Human Rights and World Literature. 5 Units.

Human rights may be universal, but each appeal comes from a specific location with its own historical, social, and cultural context. This summer we will turn to literary narratives and films from a wide number of global locations to help us understand human rights; each story taps into fundamental beliefs about justice and ethics, from an eminently human and personal point of view. What does it mean not to have access to water, education, free speech, for example? This course has two components. The first will be a set of readings on the history and ethos of modern human rights. These readings will come from philosophy, history, political theory. The second, and major component is comprised of novels and films that come from different locations in the world, each telling a compelling story. We will come away from this class with a good introduction to human rights history and philosophy and a set of insights into a variety of imaginative perspectives on human rights issues from different global locations. Readings include: Amnesty International, Freedom: Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Andrew Clapham, Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction, James Dawes, That the World May Know, Walter Echo-Hawk, In the Light of Justice, Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide, Bessie Head, The Word for World is Forest, Ursula LeGuin.

COMPLIT 680. Curricular Practical Training. 1-3 Unit.

CPT course required for international students completing degree. Prerequisite: Comparative Literature Ph.D. candidate.

COMPLIT 70N. Animal Planet and the Romance of the Species. 3-4 Units.

Preference to freshmen.This course considers a variety of animal characters in Chinese and Western literatures as potent symbols of cultural values and dynamic sites of ethical reasoning. What does pervasive animal imagery tell us about how we relate to the world and our neighbors? How do animals define the frontiers of humanity and mediate notions of civilization and culture? How do culture, institutions, and political economy shape concepts of human rights and animal welfare? And, above all, what does it mean to be human in the pluralistic and planetary 21st century? Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Same as: CHINA 70N

COMPLIT 802. TGR Dissertation. 0 Units.

COMPLIT 89. Investigating Identity Through Filipinx Fiction. 5 Units.

This course is both a reading seminar featuring canonical and contemporary Filipinx authors (including Mia Alvar, Carlos Bulosan, Elaine Castillo, Bienvenido Santos, Lysley Tenorio and José Rizal) and a writing workshop where students generate short stories exploring identity. Rizal's seminal novels Noli Me Tangere and El filibusterismo are ¿the earliest artistic expressions of the Asian colonial experience from the point of view of the oppressed¿ and through his work and the work of other Filipinx authors, we discover how both national and individual identities are not only challenged by adversity, trauma, violence, and war but also forged and strengthened by them. Note: First priority to undergrads. Students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot.
Same as: ASNAMST 90E, ENGLISH 90E

See Also