Course description

The course aims to introduce students to the international dimension of the Western literary tradition. Throughout this history, readers & writers were familiar with works in a variety of languages, & the great books all arise within a multilingual context. The course will draw on literatures written in English, French, German, Russian & Spanish, & the texts to be studied all register this context in some way. The course aims to build up a sense of this broad context, & to give students the opportunity to read some "great books" with the understanding that this brings. Some of these books will be old, & some very recent: we will read the recent ones in the light of the long tradition to which they belong, showing how they renew & sometimes change it radically. All texts will be studied in translation; the course does not presuppose any prior knowledge of any of the languages.

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