Subject Offerings

To find subjects taught in previous semesters, you may also look at the archived Literature Supplements.

Spring 2025 Literature Supplement   IAP 2025   Fall 2024 Literature Supplement
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Intermediate

The Spanish Incubator

Prereq: none
Units: 3-3-3 HASS-E

Info Sessions in 4-149, Attend ONE! Priority registration only to students who attend:

Sunday, Sept. 15th at 12:00PM
OR:
Thursday, Sept. 19th at 5:15PM

Taught in English. 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, Spain deeply influenced our understanding of contemporary culture. Films, readings, field trips to museums, and visits to Spanish cultural sites will enable students to understand the full context in which today’s vibrant Spanish democracy and internationally acclaimed artistic production emerged.

Students live in homestays with Spanish families. Classes are held at the Instituto Internacional, a vibrant, historical, American/Spanish cultural and university center in the heart of Madrid with an excellent library, café, garden and wifi. An evening reception with the MIT alums who live in Spain provides great conversation and invaluable networking. Several long weekends give students the opportunity to travel.

This 9-unit subject (3-3-3) will count for HASS credit and the Literature concentration, minor or major. It also counts as a course in English for the Spanish minor and major. Readings are presented in a bilingual reader and students may choose to complete the readings and to write papers in English or in Spanish.

Some scholarships are available. Spanish is not a prerequisite for this subject. Most students complete the reading and writing assignments in English.

Applications for IAP Madrid can be accessed here

Literary London

Prereq: none
Units: 3-3-3 HASS-E

Info Session: Wednesday, September 11th @ 5:15 PM in 2-105

This class will explore the locations, history, literature and artistic institutions that have made London a world cultural hub. Through guided readings, theater performances, walking tours and visits to sites associated with major authors, you will experience the vibrancy of London’s past and present. This 9-unit subject will count for HASS-E credit and the Literature minor or major. Learn more about this immersive 9-unit literature class taught by Prof. Diana Henderson in London during IAP. Please contact Stephen Barnes barness@mit.edu (MIT-MISTI UK Program Manager) or Professor Diana Henderson dianah@mit.edu for any further questions.

Application deadline Tuesday, September 24th: Apply here.

Brazil: Race, Place, and Modernity in the Americas

Same subject as: WGS.247 / 21W.781 / 11.047
Prereq: none
Units: 3-3-3 HASS-E

Info Sessions:
Tue, September 17 @ 5:15pm, Room 3-133
Wed, September 25 @ 5:15pm, Room 4-163

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.

Issues explored in the course materials and on-site activities include the legacy of transatlantic slavery, indigenous dispossession, urban segregation, environmental racism, and reparations. Focusing on the work of Black and Indigenous people, particularly women, the course places a strong emphasis on the ways in which art and cultural activism can have an impact on racial justice issues.

9 units. HASS elective credit.

Taught in English. Need-based scholarships available.

Applications will open on September 17 and are due September 30: Apply here.

Further questions? Please contact wgs-brazil@mit.edu