21G.341 Contemporary French Film and Social Issues
Prereq: 21G.304 or permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H

Issues in contemporary French society as expressed through movies made in the 1990s. Topics include France's national self-image, the women's movement, sexuality and gender, family life and class structure, post-colonialism and immigration, and American cultural imperialism. Films by Lelouch, Audiard, Doillon, Denis, Klapisch, Resnais, Rouan, Balasko, Collard, Dridi, Kassovitz, and others. Readings from French periodicals. Films shown with English subtitles. Taught in French.

21G.348 Global Paris
Prereq: One intermediate subject in French or permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H

Investigates Paris' oversized status as a global capital by looking at the events, transformations, cultures, and arts for which the city is known. Explores Paris as a magnet for immigrants, and how their presence has transformed the city. Takes into account the city as a mythic place, dreamed of and reconstructed as far away as Bollywood and Las Vegas. Provides a deeper understanding of Paris and its current place in French and global cultures. Taught in French.

21L.400 Medical Narratives: Compelling Accounts from Antiquity to Grey's Anatomy
Prereq: None
3-3-6 HASS-H/SS

Explores fundamental questions about the experience of illness from the points of view of the patient, the physician, and the caretaker. Examines the ways in which these narratives have changed across centuries and across cultures. Asks about the physician's role in determining treatment; whether storytelling leads to more ethical life and death decisions; what special insights patient narratives provide; and what new awareness physicians derive from narrating illness. Materials include essays, fiction, poetry, memoir, blogs, film and television. As a capstone project, students develop their own medical narratives that emerge in interaction with a mentor from the greater-Boston medical community.

21L.419 Books to Grow By (New!)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Explores texts and visual adaptations from the perspective of what they teach us about living and growing up — no matter how old one is. Focuses on how sensibilities, values, and social and personal identities are consolidated by our reading choices and practices. The instructor's personal experience and perspective defines the arc that binds the selected texts together; consequently, theme and focus vary from term to term. Topics taught may include: the Bildungsroman, books for children, learning to think, and becoming other. May be repeated for credit with instructor's permission.

21L.420 Gateway to British Literature (New!)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Examines the rich heritage of British literature across genre and historical period. Designed for students who want to know more about British literature, its cultural history, and global legacies. Studies the relationship between literary themes, forms, and conventions and the times in which they were produced. Topics may include Renaissance lyrics and drama; Enlightenment satires; the 19th-century novel; and modern and contemporary stories, poems, and film.

21G.421 Franz Kafka: A Novelist for the 21st Century (New!)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Explores Kafka's world and his observations on a fundamental dehumanization of modern life that transcends time and culture and still resonates today. Through in-depth analysis, investigates the ways in which alienation and estrangement — two profound themes in Kafka's work — are portrayed in relation to bureaucracy and systems, technology and war, and the individual and the state. Examines these themes, which have come to be known as Kafkaesque, through the lens of contemporary digitalization and digitally mediated life. Students develop a research topic that is refined during the term through in-class discussion and workshops, writing, and oral presentations, culminating in a final paper. Taught in German.

21L.430 Popular Culture and Narrative
(Same subject as CMS.920)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

Examines relationships between popular culture and art, focusing on problems of evaluation and audience, and the uses of different media within a broader social context. Typically treats a range of narrative and dramatic works as well as films. Previously taught topics include Elements of Style; Gender, Sexuality and Popular Narrative. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments. Approved for credit in Women's and Gender Studies when content meets the requirements for subjects in that program. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor.

21L.431 Shakespeare on Film and Media
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Examines the adaptation, performance and interpretation of Shakespearean plays on film and video. Focus varies from term to term, to include films such as the Olivier and Almereyda versions of Hamlet and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet; "spin-offs" such as Kurosawa's Throne of Blood and Shakespeare in Love; or theatrical videos of English language and international productions.

21L.432[J] Understanding Television
(Same subject as CMS.315[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

A cultural approach to television's evolution as a technology and system of representation. Considers television as a system of storytelling and mythmaking, and as a cultural practice studied from anthropological, literary, and cinematic perspectives. Focuses on prime-time commercial broadcasting, the medium's technological and economic history, and theoretical perspectives. Considerable television viewing and readings in media theory and cultural interpretation are required. Previously taught topics include American Television: A Cultural History. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.

21L.433 Film Styles and Genres
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

Close study of one or more directors, genres, periods, artistic movements, or national cinemas which have been of major significance in the history of film. Previously taught topics include: Hollywood and Hong Kong; and Movie Realists: Chaplin, Renoir, Neo-realism, Truffaut. May be repeated for credit by permission of instructor.

21L.434 Science Fiction and Fantasy
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Traces the history of science fiction as a generic tradition in literature, media, and popular culture. Considers formal ideological and cultural approaches to the analysis and interpretation of science fiction and fantasy texts. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor if content differs.

21L.435 Literature and Film
Prereq: None
3-3-6 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

Investigates relationships between the two media, including film adaptations as well as works linked by genre, topic, and style. Explores how artworks challenge and cross cultural, political, and aesthetic boundaries. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor if content differs.

21L.436[J] Latin America and the Global Sixties: Counterculture and Revolution (New!)
(Same subject as CMS.355[J], 21G.070[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H, CI-H

Close reading of political issues, cultural artifacts, and social actors of Latin America during and in the wake of the revolutionary 1960s. Examines how culture and politics addressed the need to conceptually organize a series of events that were equally momentous and confusing. Questions the established stereotypes and assumptions about Latin America and the sixties that are portrayed in its contemporary, often nostalgic, revivals. Focuses on the ideas that defined Latin America's participation in a global trend of political upheavals, emerging youth cultures, and demands for social justice. Taught in English.

21L.437[J] The Short Form: Literature and New Media Cultures in the Hispanic World (New!)
(Same subject as CMS.358[J], WGS.210[J], 21G.736[J])
Prereq: One intermediate subject in Spanish or permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H

Examines the aesthetics of the brief form across a variety of media and genres in Latin America and Spain, from short stories and snapshots to newspapers and Twitter. Explores the history and social significance of four short genres in the Hispanic world: the short story, the crónica, the poem, and the song. Discusses the rich literary and critical tradition that relates narrative length and temporality to the prose and the lyric in Spanish speaking cultures. With an emphasis on the 20th- and 21st-century epistemologies of acceleration and the remediation of literary theories of brevity, analyzes the relationship between temporality, aesthetic form, and media technologies, and the way these topics have taken shape in the imagination of writers, artists, and audiences in historically specific and politically significant contexts. Taught in Spanish.

21L.438[J] Intersectional Feminist Memoir
(Same subject as 21W.738[J], WGS.238[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Explores the memoir genre through a feminist intersectional lens, looking at the ways in which feminist writers ground personal experience within a complex understanding of race, gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity, immigration status/nationality, and dis/ablity. Gives particular attention to the relationships between the personal and the political; form and content; fact, truth, and imagination; self and community; trauma and healing; coming to voice and breaking silence. Readings include books by Audre Lorde, Janet Mock, Daisy Hernandez, Jessica Valenti, and Ariel Gore, and shorter pieces by Meena Alexander and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. Drawing on lessons taken from these works, students write a short memoir of their own.

21L.449 The Wilds of Literature
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-A

Immerses students in literature that represents the interaction between humans and nature as sublime, revelatory, and mutually sustaining. Without denying the damage humans have wreaked on the environment, explores the role that pleasure, wonder, and hope might play in helping us to envision new modes of engagement. Examples of authors studied include William Wordsworth, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Annie Dillard, and Lauret Savoy. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor if content differs.

21L.450 Global Environmental Literature (New!)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Introduces students to global environmental literature from the 20th and 21st centuries. Reflects on the effects of globalization and the ways in which ecological problems affect certain ethnic, national, and economic populations in radically unequal ways. Considers the nature and scope of these disparities, primarily through literature. Presents the humanities as an avenue for contemplating environmental harm. Topics vary by term but may include: climate change, toxicity, waste, environmental racism, food scarcity, migration, urban sustainability, or the petroleum economy.

21L.451 Literary Theory
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Examines how we read texts and the questions that we, as readers, ask of them. Introduces different critical approaches to literature by examining the relationship between readers and text, between different texts, and between text and context. Topics vary but usually include reader-response theory, structuralism and semiotics, post-structuralism and post-modernism, historicism, psychoanalysis, intertextuality, cultural criticism, and media theory.

21L.452[J] Literature and Philosophy
(Same subject as 24.140)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Highlights interactions between literary and philosophical texts, asking how philosophical themes can be explored in fiction, poetry, and drama. Exposes students to diverse modes of humanistic thought, interpretation, and argument, putting the tools and ideas of philosophy into conversation with those of the literary humanities. Students engage closely with selected literary and philosophical texts, explore selected topics in philosophy - such as ethics, epistemology, and aesthetics - through a literary lens, and participate in class discussion with peers and professors. Limited to 20.

21L.453[J] Political Utopias and Dystopias (New!)
(Same subject as 17.157)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-S

Explores fundamental questions about equality, freedom, privacy, community, and popular accountability through representation of idealized or horrific political systems. Focuses on classic, time-tested novels paired with short pieces on real-world cases that address key themes in the fictional treatment.

21L.455 Ancient Authors
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

Close examination of major works of classical Greek and Roman literature in translation. Topics may include epic, history, lyric poetry, or drama and the works of authors such as Thucydides, Homer, Virgil, and Cicero. Texts vary from term to term. May be repeated once for credit if content differs. Enrollment limited.

21L.456 The Bible: Old Testament
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Introduces students to the three divisions of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, Prophets, Writings. Particular attention to literary techniques, the historical periods that produced and are reflected in the various books, issues resulting from translation, and the difference between Old Testament and Hebrew Bible. Students cannot also receive credit for 21L.458.

21L.457 The Bible: New Testament
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Introduces students to the genres that comprise the New Testament: gospels, history, letters, apocalypse. Particular attention to historical context, canonicity, translation, and the transformation of Hebrew Bible into Old Testament. Students cannot also receive credit for 21L.458.

21L.458 The Bible
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

An introduction to major books from both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Particular attention given to literary techniques, issues resulting from translation from the original Hebrew and Greek, and the different historical periods that produced and are reflected in the Bible. Students cannot also receive credit for 21L.456 or 21L.457.

21L.460 Arthurian Literature
Prereq: One subject in Literature
3-0-9 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

Tracing the evolution of King Arthur (and principal knights), students consider what underlies the appeal of this figure whose consistent reappearance in western culture has performed the medieval prophecy that he would be rex quondam et futurus: the once and future king. Examines how Arthur's persona has been reinvented and rewritten throughout history, including portrayals as Christian hero and war-leader, ineffective king and pathetic cuckold, and as a tragic figure of noble but doomed intentions.

21L.471 Major Novels
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

Studies important examples of the literary form that, from the beginning of the 18th century to the present day, has become an indispensable instrument for representing modern life, in the hands of such writers as Cervantes, Defoe, Richardson, Sterne, Burney, Austen, Scott, Dickens, the Brontes, Eliot, Balzac, Stendhal, Flaubert, Hardy, Conrad, Woolf, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Proust, and others. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor.

21L.473[J] Jane Austen
(Same subject as WGS.240[J])
Prereq: One subject in Literature
3-0-9 HASS-H

An examination of Jane Austen's satire in her seven complete novels, several fragments, and juvenilia. Students read these texts in relation to her letters and other biographical and historical information.

21L.474[J] Representing Girlhood (New!)
(Same subject as CMS.422[J], WGS.230[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Invites students to analyze cultural artifacts that represent girlhood from various eras and genres, including novels, children's literature, poetry, film, television, and popular music. Conceives girlhood in a broadly inclusive way, putting a range of materials — e.g., cultural artifacts that center Black, Jewish, Asian, and queer girls — in conversation with one another, by artists like Toni Morrison, Judy Blume, Andrea Wang, and Chappell Roan. Helps students build their oral presentation skills. Includes field trips to local museums or cultural events.

21L.475 Enlightenment and Modernity
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

Examines selected topics in 18th- and 19th-century English/European literature and culture from the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660 to the end of Queen Victoria's reign in 1901. Topics vary by term; authors may include Jonathan Swift, Laurence Sterne, William Blake, William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Lewis Carroll, Oscar Wilde, and Arthur Conan Doyle, among others. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor.

21L.480[J] Identities and Intersections: Queer Literatures
(Same subject as WGS.245)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Focuses on LGBT literature from the mid-19 century to the present, with an emphasis on fiction and poetry. In particular, analyzes how LGBT identities and their literary representations have changed over time. Covers authors such as Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, Cherrie Moraga, Melvin Dixon, Leslie Feinberg, and Luis Negron.

21L.481[J] HIV/AIDS in American Culture
(Same subject as WGS.250)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Examines cultural responses to HIV/AIDS in the US during the first fifteen years of the epidemic, prior to the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Students consider how sexuality, race, gender, class, and geography shaped the experience of HIV/AIDS and the cultural production surrounding it, as well as the legacy of this cultural production as it pertains to the communities most at risk today. Materials include mainstream press coverage, film, theater, television, popular music, comic books, literature, and visual art.

21L.482[J] Topics in Queer Studies
(Same subject as WGS.260[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9

Develops critical understanding of queer theory through foundational and contemporary texts and other media forms. Examines relationships between queer theory and other social and cultural theories that probe and critique power, privilege, and normativity including critical race theory, transgender studies, feminist theory, and disability theory. Topics may include social movements, queer of color critiques, transnational activisms, and transgender politics.

21L.484[J] Rap Theory and Practice (New!)
(Formerly: 21L.S60)
(Same subject as CMS.305[J], 21M.222[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-A

To gain a deeper understanding of rap, students engage in the full process of creating rap music, including composing lyrics, recording, performing, and creating rap-based music projects. Existing rap music is studied, selected lyrics are analyzed, and possible reasons for the structure and success of different songs are presented in case studies. Students analyze rap songs, reflect on their own weekly activities in writing, and present their work in class by playing recordings, performing, and responding to each other in workshop discussions.

21L.485 Modern Fiction
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Tradition and innovation in representative fiction of the early modern period. Recurring themes include the role of the artist in the modern period; the representation of psychological and sexual experience; and the virtues (and defects) of the aggressively experimental character. Works by Conrad, Kipling, Babel, Kafka, James, Lawrence, Mann, Ford Madox Ford, Joyce, Woolf, Faulkner, and Nabokov. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor if content differs.

21L.486[J] Modern Drama
(Same subject as 21T.244[J], WGS.285[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-A

Explores major modern plays with special attention to performance, sociopolitical and aesthetic contexts, and the role of theater in the contemporary multimedial landscape. Includes analysis of class, gender, and race as modes of performance. Typically features Beckett and Brecht, as well as some of the following playwrights: Chekov, Churchill, Deavere Smith, Ibsen, Fornes, Friel, Kushner, O'Neill, Shaw, Stoppard, Soyinka, Williams, Wilson. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor if content differs.

21L.487 Modern Poetry
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Study of major poems and manifestos from the late 19th century through the early 21st century. Examines works written in English, with some attention to Modernist texts from other cultures and other languages as well. Poems by T. S. Eliot, W. C. Williams, Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Pablo Neruda, Hilda Doolittle, Charles Baudelaire, Anna Akhmatova, Bertolt Brecht, Rabindranath Tagore, and others. Comprised primarily of discussions, short papers, and a final project. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor if content differs.

21L.488 Contemporary Literature
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Study of key themes and techniques in prose, poetry, and drama since the 1970s. Recent topics include postmodernism, globalization, new British and Irish writing, and literature and development. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor if content differs.

21L.489[J] Interactive Narrative
(Same subject as 21W.765[J], CMS.845)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-A, CI-M

Provides a workshop environment for understanding interactive narrative (print and digital) through critical writing, narrative theory, and creative practice. Covers important multisequential books, hypertexts, and interactive fictions. Students write critically, and give presentations, about specific works; write a short multisequential fiction; and develop a digital narrative system, which involves significant writing and either programming or the structuring of text. Programming ability helpful.

21L.490[J] Introduction to the Classics of Russian Literature
(Same subject as 21G.077[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Explores the works of classical Russian writers of the 19th and 20th centuries, including stories and novels by Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bunin, Nabokov, Platonov, and others. Focuses on their approaches to portraying self and society, and on literary responses to fundamental ethical and philosophical questions about justice, freedom, free will, fate, love, loyalty, betrayal, and forgiveness.  Taught in English; students interested in completing some readings and a short writing project in Russian should register for 21G.618.

21L.491[J] Gateway to Korean Literature and Culture
(Same subject as 21G.066)
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Introduction to two millennia of Korean literature and culture. Discusses texts, artifacts, and films in their cultural context and from a comparative global perspective. Explores poetry; historiography, story-telling, drama and fiction; philosophical and religious texts and practices; and visual materials. Includes creative exercises to help students develop their own Korean wave and K-drama passions with a critically informed eye.

21L.492[J] Three Kingdoms: From History to Fiction, Comic, Film, and Game
(Same subject as 21G.042[J], 21H.352[J], CMS.359[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Tracing adaptations of the great Chinese epic novel, Three Kingdoms, across diverse media, and considers what underlies the appeal of this classic narrative over the centuries. Through focus on historical events in the period 206 BC to AD 280, examines the representation of power, diplomacy, war, and strategy, and explores the tension among competing models of political authority and legitimacy. Covers basic elements of classical Chinese political and philosophical thought, and literary and cultural history. Final group project involves digital humanities tools. Readings in translation.

21L.493[J] Gateway to Japanese Literature and Culture
(Same subject as 21G.062)
Prereq: None
4-0-8

Surveys the nature, history, and distinctive features of Japanese literature and cultural history from the beginnings through the threshold of modernity. Examines various genres of poetry, historiography and mythological lore, prose tales and fiction, diaries, essays, Noh and puppet plays, short stories and novels; and helps students appreciate the texts’ relevance in the historical and cultural context in which authors wrote them, in the broader context of literary traditions from around the world, and for the humanistic and aesthetic powers, which makes them poignant to us today. Showcases how authors increasingly enjoyed adapting, redoing, and satirizing earlier models, while constantly developing new expressive forms suited to the urgent needs of their time. Includes an eco-literature lab, a creative writing lab, and a history-writing lab for collaborative experimentation.

21L.494[J] Classics of Chinese Literature in Translation
(Formerly: 21L.044[J])
(Same subject as 21G.044[J], 21G.195, WGS.235[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Introduction to some of the major genres of traditional Chinese poetry, fiction, and drama. Intended to give students a basic understanding of the central features of traditional Chinese literary genres, as well as to introduce students to the classic works of the Chinese literary tradition. Works read include Journey to the West, Outlaws of the Margin, Dream of the Red Chamber, and the poetry of the major Tang dynasty poets. Literature read in translation. Taught in English.

21L.500[J] How We Got to Hamilton (New!)
(Formerly: 21M.729)
(Same subject as CMS.427[J], 21T.247[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-A

Traces the evolution of the American musical from minstrelsy to Hamilton. Equips students with terms, tools, and techniques to enrich their analysis of how individual songs, scenes, and dances — as well as whole shows — are structured. Recovers the groundbreaking yet often forgotten or appropriated achievements of artists of color to Broadway and Hollywood musicals. Features a mix of creative and critical assignments, some of which may be linked to field trips to local theaters, dance studios, and archives.

21L.501 The American Novel
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

Works by major American novelists, beginning with the late 18th century and concluding with a contemporary novelist. Major emphasis on reading novels as literary texts, but attention paid to historical, intellectual, and political contexts as well. Syllabus varies from term to term, but many of the following writers are represented: Rowson, Hawthorne, Melville, Twain, Wharton, James, and Toni Morrison. Previously taught topics include The American Revolution and Makeovers (i.e. adaptations and reinterpretation of novels traditionally considered as American "Classics"). May be repeated for credit with instructor's permission so long as the content differs.

21L.504[J] Race and Identity in American Literature
(Same subject as WGS.140[J])
Prereq: Permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

Questions posed by the literature of the Americas about the relationship of race and gender to authorship, audience, culture, ethnicity, and aesthetics. Social conditions and literary histories that shape the politics of identity in American literature. Specific focus varies each term. Previously taught topics include Immigrant Stories, African American Literature, and Asian American Literature. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor if the content differs.

21L.512 American Authors
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H; Can be repeated for credit

Examines in detail the works of several American authors selected according to a theme, period, genre, or set of issues. Through close readings of poetry, novels, or plays, subject addresses such issues as literary influence, cultural diversity, and the writer's career. Previously taught topics include American Women Writers, American Autobiography, American Political Writing, and American Short Fiction. Approved for credit in Women's and Gender Studies when content meets the requirements for subjects in that program. May be repeated for credit with instructor's permission so long as the content differs.

21L.522[J] International Women’s Voices
(Same subject as 21G.022[J], WGS.141[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9, HASS-H, CI-H

Introduces students to a variety of fictional works by contemporary women writers. International perspective emphasizes the extent to which each author's work reflects her distinct cultural heritage and to what extent, if any, there is an identifiable female voice that transcends national boundaries. Uses a variety of interpretive perspectives, including sociohistorical, psychoanalytic, and feminist criticism, to examine texts. Authors include Mariama Ba, Isabel Allende, Anita Desai, Maxine Hong Kingston, Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing, Alifa Riyaat, Yang Jiang, Nawal Al-Saadawi, and Sawako Ariyoshi. Taught in English.

21L.580 Translations
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-A

Students study theories of translation, compare examples of multiple renderings of the same work, and work on translation projects. Supplementary assignments focus on adaptation of works from one genre to another, and on transmission of information from one mode to another (visual to verbal changes, American Sign Language, etc.). Students write essays about relative theories of translation and about comparisons of variant versions, and also work on translation projects of their own in workshop-format. Includes texts such as the King James Bible, and writers such as Walter Benjamin, George Steiner, Wislawa Szymborska, Czeslaw Milosz, Pablo Neruda, Gabriela Mistral, Rainer Maria Rilke, William Gass, and Robert Pinsky. Limited to 18.

21L.590[J] The Spanish Incubator
(Same subject as 21G.073[J])
Prereq: None
3-3-3 HASS-E

Students travel to Spain to explore the country's influence on our understanding of contemporary culture, from its role as the crucible of the international avant-garde, to its genesis of political art and writing, to its Civil War that ignited the artistic passion of authors around the world, to the exuberant liberation after 40 years of dictatorship. Readings include Hemingway, Lorca, Orwell, Neruda, memoirs of Americans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Spanish poetry of the war and repression that followed, and the films of Saura and Almodovar. Films, readings, field trips to museums, and cultural events enable students to understand the full context in which today's vibrant Spanish democracy emerged. Contact Literature about travel fee and possible funding opportunities. Enrollment limited. Application required; contact Literature Headquarters for details.

21L.591 Literary London
Prereq: None
3-3-3 HASS-E

Based in London, explores the specific locations, history and artistic institutions that have made London a world cultural hub, deepening students' knowledge gained on site through guided readings, theater performances, visits to homes associated with major authors, guest experts, and independent "author mapping" projects with reports back to the class. Sharpens students' understanding of the complexities of international exchange and identity formation in a global age. Contact Literature about travel fee and possible funding opportunities. Enrollment limited. Application required; contact Literature Headquarters for details.

21L.592[J] Brazil: Race, Place, and Modernity in the Americas
(Same subject as WGS.247 / 21W.781 / 11.047)
Prereq: None
3-3-3 HASS-E

Based in São Paulo, this course examines the relationship between race and place in the formation of modern Brazil and the U.S. through comparative analysis and interdisciplinary study of literature, film, visual art, music, and performance. We will visit key cultural and historical sites; interact with archives and museum collections; and, most importantly, engage in dialogue with local scholars, religious leaders, community organizers, and activists.

21L.600 Reading Masterpieces of Classical East Asian Literature and Philosophy (New!)
Prereq: 21G.104, 21G.110, 21G.504, 21G.904, or permission of instructor
2-2-8 HASS-H

Teaches the foundation of Classical Chinese, the cosmopolitan language of premodern East Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam), through readings of major works of philosophy, poetry, fiction, and historiography. Explores the oldest continuous literary tradition with works that have become touchstones of global political strategy and personal wisdom, such as the Confucian Analects, Daeodejing, or the Art of War, or the classical Chinese and Japanese poetry that drove American avant-garde movements like the Beats. Students acquire solid competency in Classical Chinese by reading classical masterpieces from East Asia in the original language and debating their legacy and relevance in today's world and their own lives.

21L.601[J] Old English and Beowulf
(Same subject as 24.916[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Intensive introduction to Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon), the ancestor of modern English that was spoken in England ca. 600-1100. In the first half of the term, students use short prose texts to study the basics of Old English grammar. They go on to read short poems, and conclude by tackling portions of the epic Beowulf in the last third of the term. Assessment based upon translation work, daily vocabulary quizzes, and three exams.

21L.607 Greek I
Prereq: None
3-0-3; first half of term

Introduces rudiments of Greek to students with little or no prior knowledge of the subject. Aimed at laying a foundation to begin reading ancient and/or medieval literary and historical texts. Greek I and Greek II may be combined by petition (after completion of both) to count as a single HASS Elective.

21L.608 Greek II
Prereq: 21L.607 or permission of instructor
3-0-3; second half of term

Introductory Greek subject for students with some prior knowledge of basic grammar and vocabulary. Intended to refresh and enrich ability to read ancient and/or medieval literary and historical texts. May be taken independently of Greek I with permission of instructor. Greek I and Greek II may be combined by petition (after completion of both) to count as a single HASS Elective.

21L.609 Greek Readings
Prereq: None
2-0-4

Introduction to reading ancient Greek literature in the original language. Provides a bridge between the study of Greek grammar and the reading of Greek authors. Improves knowledge of the language through careful examination of literary texts, both prose and poetry. Builds proficiency in reading Greek and develops appreciation for basic features of style and genre. Texts vary from term to term. May be repeated once for credit if content differs. 21L.609 and 21L.610, or two terms of 21L.609, may be combined by petition (after completion of both) to count as a single HASS-H.

21L.610 Advanced Greek Readings
Prereq: None
2-0-4

Building on 21L.609, develops the ability to read and analyze ancient Greek literary texts, both prose and poetry. Focuses on increasing fluency in reading comprehension and recognition of stylistic, generic, and grammatical features. Texts vary from term to term. May be repeated once for credit if content differs. 21L.610 and 21L.609, or two terms of 21L.610, may be combined by petition (after completion of both) to count as a single HASS-H.

21L.611 Latin I
Prereq: None
3-0-3; first half of term

Introduces rudiments of Latin to students with little or no prior knowledge of the subject. Aimed at laying a foundation to begin reading ancient and/or medieval literary and historical texts. Latin I and Latin II may be combined by petition (after completion of both) to count as a single HASS Elective. Limited to 20.

21L.612 Latin II
Prereq: 21L.611 or permission of instructor
3-0-3; second half of term

Introductory Latin subject for students with some prior knowledge of basic grammar and vocabulary. Intended to refresh and enrich ability to read ancient and/or medieval literary and historical texts. May be taken independently of Latin I with permission of instructor. Latin I and Latin II may be combined by petition (after completion of both) to count as a single HASS Elective. Limited to 20.

21L.613 Latin Readings
Prereq: None
2-0-4 HASS-H

Introduction to reading Latin literature in the original language. Provides a bridge between the study of Latin grammar and the reading of Latin authors. Improves knowledge of the language through careful examination of literary texts, focusing on prose and poetry in alternate years. Builds proficiency in reading Latin and develops appreciation for basic features of style and genre. Texts vary from term to term. May be repeated once for credit if content differs. 21L.613 and 21L.614, or two terms of 21L.613, may be combined by petition (after completion of both) to count as a single HASS-H.

21L.614 Advanced Latin Readings
Prereq: None
2-0-4 HASS-H

Building on 21L.613, develops the ability to read and analyze Latin literary texts, focusing on prose and poetry in alternate years. Increases fluency in reading comprehension and recognition of stylistic, generic, and grammatical features. Texts vary from term to term. May be repeated once for credit if content differs. 21L.613 and 21L.614, or two terms of 21L.614, may be combined by petition (after completion of both) to count as a single HASS-H.

21L.620[J] Introduction to French Literature
(Same subject as 21G.320)
Prereq: 21G.304 or permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H

A basic study of major French literary genres — poetry, drama, and fiction — and an introduction to methods of literary analysis. Authors include: Voltaire, Balzac, Sand, Baudelaire, Apollinaire, Camus, Sartre, Ionesco, Duras, and Tournier. Special attention devoted to the improvement of French language skills. Taught in French.

21L.622[J] Understanding French Contemporary Politics [Taught in English] (New!)
(Same subject as 21G.053[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Examines the changes in contemporary French society through the study of political debates, reforms and institutions since 1958. Analyzes the deep influence of politics on cultural and social life, despite a decline in political participation. Revisits public controversies and political cleavages, from the Algerian war to postcolonial issues, from the birth of the European Union to the recent financial crisis, and from the moral "revolution" of the seventies to the recognition of new families. Course taught in English.

21L.623[J] Invention of French Theory History of Transatlantic Intellectual Life Since 1945 [Taught in English] (New!)
(Same subject as 21G.068[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Examines post-WWII French theory. Discusses how theorists such as Lacan, Cixous, Derrida, and Debord were perceived in France and the US. Explores transatlantic intellectual debates since 1989 and the "new" French theory. Topics include: communism, decolonization, neo-liberalism, gender and mass media. Taught in English.

21L.624[J] Childhood and Youth in French and Francophone Cultures (New!)
(Same subject as 21G.321[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Studies the transformation of childhood and youth since the 18th century in France, as well as the development of sentimentality within the family in a francophone context. Examines the personification of children, both as a source of inspiration for artistic creation and a political ideal aimed at protecting future generations. Considers various representations of childhood and youth in literature (e.g., Pagnol, Proust, Sarraute, Laye, Morgiévre), movies (e.g., Truffaut), and songs (e.g., Brel, Barbara). Taught in French.

21L.625[J] French Literature and the Goncourt Prize (New!)
(Same subject as 21G.323[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

A study of contemporary French literature and classics through the participation in the US Goncourt Prize jury. "Le Goncourt" is the most prestigious literary prize in France. Students study and rank books from the Goncourt shortlist. Prepares students to serve as representatives of MIT on a prize jury at Villa Albertine in New York and choose the winner along with students from Princeton, Duke, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Virginia. Students write a press article to present their experience as a jury. Special attention is devoted to the improvement of French language skills, oral and written. Taught in French.

21L.626[J] New Culture of Gender: Queer France
(Formerly: 21L.324[J] )
(Same subject as 21G.325[J], WGS.233[J])
Prereq: One intermediate subject in French
3-0-9 HASS-H

Addresses the place of contemporary queer identities in French discourse. Discusses the new generation of queer authors and their principal concerns. Introduces students to the main classical references of queer subcultures, from Proust and Vivien to Hocquenghem and Wittig. Examines current debates on post-colonial and globalized queer identities through essays, songs, movies, and novels. Authors include Didier Eribon, Anne Garréta, Abdellah Taïa, Anne Scott, and Nina Bouraoui. Taught in French.

21L.627[J] French Pop Music
(Same subject as 21G.342[J])
Prereq: 21G.304 or permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H

Studies the literary, political and social traditions of "la chanson française" from the early 20th century to the present. Discusses the influences of world music on both French and francophone songs. Students investigate individual musicians' careers, as well as generational phenomena, such as cabaret songs, yéyés, and French rap. Examines the impact of social media on the music industry in France, the role of television and cinema, and the influence of dance and living art. Taught in French.

21L.628[J] French Feminist Literature: Yesterday and Today
(Formerly: 21L.621[J])
(Same subject as 21G.344[J], WGS.321[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Explores feminist literary voices in France throughout the ages. Discusses the theory that the power of feminist writing lies in its ability to translate dominant language into a language of one's own. Studies lifestyles, family norms, political representation, social movements, as well as the perception of the body. Investigates how feminist genealogies redefine the relationship between belonging and knowledge through a dialogue between several generations of women writers. Taught in French. Limited to 18.

21L.629[J] Social and Literary Trends in Contemporary Short French Fiction
(Formerly: 21G.347)
(Same subject as 21G.347[J])
Prereq: One intermediate subject in French or permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H

Examines short stories and short novels published in France during the past 20 years, with emphasis on texts related to the dominant social and cultural trends. Themes include the legacy of France's colonial experience, the re-examination of its wartime past, memory and the Holocaust, the specter of AIDS, changing gender relationships, new families, the quest for personal identity, and immigration narratives. Covers a wide variety of authors, including Christine Angot, Nina Bouraoui, Herve Guibert, and Patrick Modiano. Taught in French.

21L.630[J] Understanding French Contemporary Politics [Taught in French] (New!)
(Same subject as 21G.353[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Examines French politics since 1958. Analyzes how politics has deeply influenced cultural and social life in France, including daily interactions. Questions public controversies and history's political cleavages, from the Algerian war to postcolonial issues, from the birth of the European construction to the Covid crisis. To explore French institutions and understand the impact of political issues in contemporary France, students "run" for the French presidency by preparing historical notes, delivering speeches, participating in a first-round presidential debate, and submitting a final political statement. Taught in French.

21L.631[J] Invention of French Theory History of Transatlantic Intellectual Life Since 1945 [Taught in French] (New!)
(Same subject as 21G.368[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-H

Explores the maze of transatlantic intellectual debates of French theorists that emerged in writings after 1945, from the heyday of French existentialism to critical ecologies. Studies debates and controversies on communism, decolonization, neo-liberalism, gender, youth culture, police violence, and new media. Discusses who the new French theorists are today and their opinions about justice, representation, and identity. Taught in French.

21L.636[J] Introduction to Contemporary Hispanic Literature and Film
(Same subject as 21G.716[J])
Prereq: One intermediate subject in Spanish or permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H

Focuses on literary and cinematic production in 20th- and 21st-century Spain and Latin America with a particular emphasis on how social, cultural, political, and technological changes led to aesthetic innovations. Topics include the literature of politics, the avant-garde and subsequent literary boom, the radical aesthetic of the post-Franco era, and post-modern film and art. Materials include short stories, novels, poetry, song, and film. Conducted in Spanish.

21L.637[J] Power and Culture: Utopias and Dystopias in Spain and Latin America
(Formerly: 21L.637[J])
(Same subject as 21G.717[J])
Prereq: None
3-0-9

Studies how new literary, artistic and musical forms have emerged in response to tensions and contradictions in Hispanic culture, from the eighth century to the present. Examines distinctively Hispanic artistic movements and modes from Al-Andalus' vibrant heterogeneity to the enforced homogeneity of the Spanish Inquisition; from a rich plurality of pre-Colombian civilizations to the imposed conversions by conquistadors; from the revolutionary zeal of Latin America's liberators to the crushing dictatorships that followed; from the promise of globalization to the struggle against US cultural imperialism. Taught in Spanish. Limited to 18.

21L.638[J] Literature and Social Conflict: Perspectives on the Hispanic World
(Same subject as 21G.738[J])
Prereq: One intermediate subject in Spanish or permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H

Considers how major literary texts illuminate principal issues in the evolution of modern Spanish society. Emphasizes the treatment of such major questions as the exile of liberals in 1820, the concept of progress, the place of religion, urbanization, rural conservatism and changing gender roles, and the Spanish Civil War. Authors include Perez Galdos, Pardo Bazan, Unamuno, Ortega y Gasset, Salinas, Lorca, La Pasionaria, and Falcon. Taught in Spanish.

21L.639[J] Globalization and its Discontents: Spanish-speaking Nations
(Same subject as 21G.739[J])
Prereq: One intermediate subject in Spanish or permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H

Studies new paradigms of cultural exchange that have shaped Latin America in the 20th and 21st centuries. Examines how globalization is rapidly changing the identity of peoples and cultures in Spanish-speaking nations. Spotlights debates about human rights. Materials studied include film, fiction, essay, architectural archives, music and art. Students complete a research project about a specific aspect of Hispanic culture that has been shaped by contemporary forces in the global economy. Taught in Spanish with required readings and writing in Spanish.

21L.640[J] The New Spain: 1977-Present
(Same subject as 21G.740[J])
Prereq: One intermediate subject in Spanish or permission of instructor
3-0-9 HASS-H

Deals with the vast changes in Spanish social, political and cultural life that have taken place since the death of Franco. Topics include new freedom from censorship, the re-emergence of strong movements for regional autonomy (the Basque region and Catalonia), the new cinema including Almodovar and Saura, educational reforms instituted by the socialist government, and the fiction of Carme Riera and Terenci Moix. Special emphasis on the emergence of mass media as a vehicle for expression in Spain. Considers the changes wrought by Spain's acceptance into the European Community. Materials include magazines, newspapers, films, fiction, and Amando de Miguel's Los Españoles. Taught in Spanish.

21W.756 Writing and Reading Poems
Prereq: None
3-0-9 HASS-A

Examination of the formal structural and textual variety in poetry. Extensive practice in the making of poems and the analysis of both students' manuscripts and texts from 16th- through 20th-century literature. Attempts to make relevant the traditional elements of poetry and their contemporary alternatives. Weekly writing assignments, including some exercises in prosody.