Coursework degrees

From 2009, two ICLS Units of Study will be available within Postgraduate degrees by Coursework in the Faculty of Arts.

ICLS staff are also available to supervise dissertation Units of Study.

Semester 1

ICLS6901 Literary Comparison: History and Methods

This seminar will trace the history of Comparative Literature as it evolved first in Europe (Goethe’s idea of Weltliteratur, the ‘French School’) then elsewhere (the ‘American School’ in particular). Through various case studies, it will trace methodological debates such as the relationship of comparative literature to national literatures, new perspectives from postcolonial, feminist and gay/lesbian/queer studies and introduction of new dimensions of comparatism that relate literature to film, performance and art studies.

Semester 2

ICLS 6902 Comparative Studies and Literary Debates

This seminar will familiarise students with contemporary theoretical and methodological debates in comparative literature and their wider impact on the study of interactions between literature, culture and society. First, it will look at particular perspectives brought by comparatists to broader theoretical debates in literature. Second, it will examine the relationship between comparative literature and translation studies. Third, it will discuss how the emergence of area studies, especially outside the west, has impacted on the development of comparative literary studies.