COMPARATIVE LITERARY ANALYSIS
THIS COURSE IS REQUIRED FOR COMPARATIVE LITERATURE MAJORS,
AND MEETS A&H REQUIREMENTS
Dr. Aiko MACPHAIL ~ MW 2:30-3:45





This course is a general introduction to literary analysis from
comparative perspective, required for Comparative Literature majors
and recommended for other students interested in the study of
literature from multi-cultural perspective.  Class sessions will
introduce and put into question basic methods and concepts of
criticism through close reading and discussion of texts by major
authors from Europe, America, and Asia.  The thematic focus this
semester will be the issue of borders drawn in various forms in and
out of texts, which makes comparison possible.  The basic
theoretical premise is taken from Benedict Anderson’s Imagined
Communities.  There will be three papers on specific assigned
topics, and students are required to watch the Japanese anime
Spirited Away on their own at an early stage of the semester.  No
knowledge of foreign languages and literatures is
necessary.