Seminar : comparative literature [ LROM2755 ]

/

A new question of comparative literature will be analyzed each year. The topic will be selected from one of the subfields of the discipline (comparative poetry, literary and cultural relations, literary theory). The question may potentially be derived from topics students are investigating for their thesis (in the case that enough students' interests overlap in terms of thematic, linguistic, theoretical and/or methodological dimensions).

- Introduce students to the methodologies and principles of the discipline through the analysis of a particular question of comparative literature.
- Provide students with an understanding of the essential structures and challenges of comparative literature and prepare them to undertake their own advanced research in the field of comparative literary studies.
- Encourage students to research questions related to national literature, as well as to expand their knowledge of foreign literature (Europe, Africa, America, Asia).
- Help student defining a research topic (by choosing a body of literature and a consistent methodological framework) and to analyze it using a critical approach and a comparative perspective.
 

  The evaluation of this seminar presents two parts:

1) An Ongoing evaluation of the student participation to the seminar.

In this context, will be retain:

a) regular class attendance and participation;

b) participation to the morning session of the International Symposium.

2) 15 minutes oral presentation on a subject and a corpus related to the topic of the seminar, accordingto the following instructions:

a) the presentation will take place in the second quadrimester (late April and early May) during seminar sessions provided for this purpose;

b) it will not exceed 15 minutes (timeliness is a criterion of evaluation);

c) Students will be able to answer the questions coming from the professor and from the other students. The relevance of the answers will influence the final score;

d) at the beginning of the presentation, students will also give to the teacher a written version of their oral presentation. This version will exactly correspond to the oral presentation. This written paper will consist in 6 pages (Times New Roman, space between lines: 1.5, margins: 2 cm everywhere), which normally corresponds to the content of a 15 minutes oral presentation.

 The final evaluation will take into account the attention given to written and spoken French.

 Students will be encouraged to become familiar with the main lines of research in comparative literature as to place their current and future research within this context.

Students are encouraged to contribute to the collective reflection engaged during the seminar and especially to talk about their readings.

They will also be invited to participate to one of the morning sessions (specified during the seminar) of the International Symposium 'Le geste critique à l'époque contemporaine. Regards sur le roman et le cinéma', organized in Louvain-la-Neuve, on December 12 and 13.

In addition to this active participation, students will also present a single 15 minutes oral presentation on a subject and a corpus related to the topic of the seminar.

Literature and Globalization: Globalization represents a main aspect of our contemporary world. The global process has been extensively studied in the political, economic, philosophical and anthropological fields. However, as far as today, literary studies have not really taken into account the measure of this phenomenon. This inadvertence of literary criticism represents a paradox because the contemporary novel, which is produced in a global world, needs to be analyzed within this contemporary global world. Moreover, concepts borrowed from other disciplines, such as interdependence or nomadism, become relevant to the study of literature.

The analysis of the globalization novel is the challenge of the Comparative Literature seminar in 2013-2014. This topic is highly comparative because it transcends the notions of border and nation and represents a very contemporary question which will help students to better understand the world they live in.

  Theoretical readings (required)

A syllabus, including various theoretical texts on the study of globalization and literature, will be available at the DUC.

Novels (required)

1) Verne Jules, Le Tour du monde en 80 jours, Paris, Le Livre de Poche, 1976.

2) Mitchell David, Ecrits fantômes, traduit de l'anglais par Manuel Berri, Paris, Editions de l'Olivier/Le Seuil, 2004.

Novels may also be read in the original language, according to the linguistic skills of each student.