Seminar : comparative literature

Teacher(s)

Sábado Novau Marta; Zanetta Julien (compensates Sábado Novau Marta);

Language

French

Main themes

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).

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1.	Introduce students to the methodologies and principles of the discipline through the analysis of a particular question of comparative literature.
2.	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.
3.	Encourage students to research questions related to national literature, as well as to expand their knowledge of foreign literature (Europe, Africa, America, Asia).
4.	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.

Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

The seminar is based on the interactions between students. The teacher will briefly introduce students to the topic of the seminar. Then, students will have to discuss their literary and theoretical readings based on guidelines previously communicated. Furthermore, they will have to produce a mid-term paper that they will discussed with the teacher and used for their final paper.

Other information

Some theoretical texts will be available only in English.
The students may read the novels in their original language, according to their linguistic skills.
 

Online resources

Moodle Website for the course
(https://moodleucl.uclouvain.be/course/view.php?id=9777)

Bibliography

1) Œuvres au programme

• Théophraste, Des caractères
• La Bruyère, Les caractères
• Cervantès, Nouvelles exemplaires
• Balzac, La Cousine Bette
• Pirandello, Un, personne et cent mille

2) Textes théoriques

• Un choix de textes théoriques sera disponible sur Moodle.

Faculty or entity

ELAL