Courses in Literature and Culture Studies in English Translation are designed to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of the literature/ culture of non-English speaking countries.  Depending on the course, students will be introduced to issues that are at the core of a national literature, culture, or linguistic practice.  These courses may focus either on one specific country (i.e., France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia) or present specific trends that cut across geographical boundaries.  Readings, lectures, and discussions in English.

Course Descriptions:

LC 110 Playing Revolution (LT)
J. Prandi

Readings and lectures in English. Plays focusing on political rebellion or a revolution in ideas will be discussed in terms of historical background, film versions, and contrasting genres (poetic drama, classical drama, epic drama, documentary drama). Includes but is not limited to Goethe's Faust, Schiller's William Tell, and plays by Bertolt Brecht. Offered in alternate years.

LC 115: Special Topics in German Literature in Translation (LT)

This course will vary in content and approach to emphasize genres, themes and periods in German literature.  Readings and lectures in English.  May count toward major/minor in German.  General credit category: Literature.

LC 125:  Special Topics in French Literature in Translation (LT)

This course will vary in content and approach to emphasize genres, themes and periods in French  literature.  Readings and lectures in English.  May count toward major/minor in French.  General credit category: Literature.

LC 135:  Special Topics in Hispanic Literature in Translation (LT)

This course will vary in content and approach to emphasize genres, themes and periods in Hispanic literature.  Readings and lectures in English.  May count toward major/minor in Hispanic Studies.  General credit category: Literature.

LC145:  Special Topics in Russian Literature in Translation (LT)

This course will vary in content and approach to emphasize genres, themes and periods in Russian literature.  Readings and lectures in English.  May count toward major/minor in Russian.  General credit category: Literature.

LC 165:  Special Topics in Italian Literature in Translation (LT)

This course will vary in content and approach to emphasize genres, themes and periods in Italian literature.  Readings and lectures in English.  General credit category: Literature.

LC 173 Tales of Mystery, Horror, and Humor (LT)
J. Prandi

Critical reading and interpretation of famous French, German, and Russian short fiction in translation. the course includes the most influential continental writers in the genre: Gogol, Kleist, Balzac, Kafka, Chekov, and Maupassant. Textual strategies of the fantastic and of realism will be explored. Stories will also be discussed in historical as well as literary context. Classes are part lecture, part discussion. Offered in alternate years.

LC 202:  Japanese Literature and Culture (LT, G)
H. Furo

This course is a broad, but in-depth, introduction to Japanese literature and culture.  Besides thematic and literary analyses, careful attention will also be given to the cultural, social, and historical factors that have created the various genres found in the Japanese language.

LC 205  Language and Culture in Japan  (SI, G)
H. Furo

The course aims at developing students' understanding and critical perspectives towards the dynamic relationship between the language use and cultural behavior in the Japanese society. Offered every other fall.

LC 207 Language and Gender (SI, G)
H. Furo

This course considers gender differences in language use as practices of social institutions and investigates the ways in which the gender differences influence communication styles between men and women. This course also encourages students to reflect upon the advantages/ disadvantages that the gender differences create and consider how we can promote gender equality in society. Offered in alternate years.

LC 210 Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, 19th-20th Century (IT)

Readings and lectures in English. How these thinkers have influenced the writing of history, sociology, biography, literary and cultural studies. Class sessions half lecture, half structured discussion. Counts towards a major or minor in Western European Studies. Offered in alternate years.

LC 222  Visions of the Self and representations of the Other in Francophone Literature of Africa and the Caribbean (LT, G)

This course focuses on 20th-Century Francophone literature from Africa and the Caribbean.  The primary themes of study will be how self-representation and representation of the "Other" are treated in works by authors from countries such as Martinique, Guadeloupe, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal.  Particular attention will be accorded to how these authors create new venues for retelling history.  Texts will be read in English translation.  Fulfills General Education requirement in Literature and Global Diversity flag.  May NOT be counted toward major/ minor requirements in French. Offered in alternate years.

LC 223 Hysterically Speaking: Representations of Madness in Women's Literature of the African Diaspora (LT, G)

This course focuses on 20th century literature from Africa and the Africa diaspora written by women. The primary theme of study will be how representations of madness figure in works by women authors from countries such as Egypt, Cameroon, Guadeloupe, Algeria, Senegal, and Haiti. Particular attention will be accorded to how these women writers use madness for retelling history and/or focusing on the socio-cultural institutions, practices, and traditions which are/have been detrimental to the development of their own identities and/or those of their heroines. Offered in alternate years.

LC 224 Cultural Questions and Contexts in African Film, 1960-present (LT, G)

Students concentrate on socio-cultural, economic, and historical issues raised by African filmmakers while learning about African film history. The films and readings represent three major historical periods: the early days of independence struggles (late 50s early 60s), independence era films (1970s-1980s), and the postcolonial/ contemporary era (1990s to the present). Offered in alternate years.

LC 242  Strangers in Their Own Home:  Yiddish Culture of Eastern Europe (IT, G)
M. Balina

This course will examine the intellectual traditions that influenced the growth and development of Yiddish culture between 1800 and the present.  The focus will be placed on traditional values in the life of the Jewish community in Russia and Eastern Europe, including their positive as well as restrictive impact on individual Jewish experience.  The study of the intellectual traditions will be reflected through three major areas of human experience:  literature, the arts, and film.  Texts will be read in English translation.  Fulfills General Education requirement in Intellectual Traditions and Global Diversity flab.  May count toward Russian major/ minor. Offered occasionally.

LC 245 Russian Culture and Society Through Film (CH, G)
M. Balina

This course will acquaint students with Russian cultural history focusing on the tremendous changes in the country from the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 to the present. The films selected for viewing and class discussion demonstrate cultural and socio-political conditions unique to Russia. Covers major events in the history of Soviet culture and the rapid and unpredictable changes in contemporary Russia. Offered in alternate years, fall semester.

LC 247 Fairy Tales of the 20th Century (AV)
M. Balina

This course analyzes the ethical and philosophical values expressed through the early forms of culture-myth and folklore. It analyzes the transformation of the fairy tale into the literature, film, and popular beliefs of the 20th Century. Discusions are based on Russian fairy tales, literary texts, art, music and film, as well as Western interpretations of the traditional fairy tale values. All lectures and discussions are in English. Offered in alternate years.

LC 250  Dangerous Texts:  Russian Literature and Politics  (LT, G)
M. Balina

This course will examine in translation "dangerous texts" of the 19th and 20th Century.  Students will learns which characteristics of texts and their authors were seen as threats, how these threats were dealt with, and how all of these factors affected the very nature of writing and reading in Russia.  Reading list includes works by Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Bulgakov, and Mayakovsky.  Fulfills General Education requirement in Literature and Global Diversity flag.  May count toward Russian major/ minor. Offered each fall.

LC 260  Viva l'Italia:  Exploring Italian Language and Culture (IT)
S. Sheridan

This course explores Italian language, literature, art, and culture in various historical contexts.  The focus of this course will be placed on cultural, political, and psychological inquiry into the issue of national unity, an illusive and ever-changing concept of Italian cultural history, with emphasis on the Renaissance and the Nineteenth Century.  Students will also develop rudimentary language skills.  Fulfills General Education requirement in Intellectual Traditions. Offered in alternate years.

LC 265 Renaissance Italy (IT)
S. Sheridan

From its passion for antiquity to its contast with the Middle Ages, the Italian Rinascimento represents a turning point in Western history. The goal of this travel course is to introduce students firsthand to the art, architecture, literature, and history of Renaissance Italy. Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor. Offered occasionally in May Term.

LC 272 From Utopia to Science Fiction: Imagining the Future in Russia and Germany (IT)
S. Fritzsche

This course traces the development of utopian thought in the 19th and 20th centuries as it manifested itself in Russia and in Germany. Special attention will be given to the dialogue between utopia, dystopia, anti-utopia, and science fiction in Russian and German fiction, political texts, film, art and music. Special focus will be placed on the utopian ideal in communism and on its future in the context of post-communist culture. All lectures, readings, and discussions are in English. Offered each spring.

LC 273 The Art of Film Noir: German Expressionism, Italian Neo-realism, and American Hard-boiled Fiction (CHC)

This course introduces students to the uniquely dark, subdued American crime dramas produced during the mid-20th century.  They will examine not only the cinematic style of the genre, but will also look at the various social changes taking place in the U.S. during the 1940s-50s, reflected by so many of these movies.  To understand the background of the genre, students will also look at various artistic, cinematic, and literary antecedents from the 1920s-1930s: German Expressionism and Expressionist film, Italian Neo-realist films, and American Hard-boiled fiction.  They will also view a variety of movies belonging to the film noir canon, illustrating the scope and nuance of the genre.  Course readings from the scholarship on all of these materials will provide the lens through which these films are understood and provide the basis of all class discussions.  Offered occasionally.

LC274 The Superwoman of Central European Fiction and Film: (CHC, G)
S. Fritzsche

This course examines the role of women in Central Europe, including Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia through literature and film.  It focuses on the process of identity formation of women and their struggle to come to terms with the failed promises of emancipation made by respective communist revolutions. In the process, it assesses the historical and cultural conditions of creating the New Socialist Personality, the communist ideal “superperson.” The course also contains a comparative element with select authors from the former “West” and the experiences of women after the fall of the Iron Curtain. All course work is in English. Offered occasionally.

LC 304  Cross-Cultural Communications:  US and Japan (AV, G)
H. Furo

The main focus of the course is on the effects of cross-cultural communication between Americans and the Japanese on interpersonal relationships, but implications for the values reflected in mass communication, political equality, and educational opportunity are also discussed. Offered every other May.

LC 308-Japanese Way of Life (IT, G)

This course explores the development of Japanese thoughts from antiquity to the present, focusing on issues of continuity and change. Students will study the major intellectual movements in Japan over time and examine the impact that modern influences from the West have had on traditional Japanese language, culture, and society. Offered every other May.

LC 337  Studies in Comparative Literature

Designed to investigate various aspects of literature in a comparative context.  Treats two or more national literatures and will vary in content and approach. Offered occasionally.

LC 347 The Moral Impulse in Russian Culture: Reading Leo Tolstoy (AV)
M. Balina

Leo Tolstoy considered his primary task as a writer to influence and to shape the morality of the Russian nation. He viewed the family as the primary source of the moral development of the human being. The course will examine two of his works, Anna Karenina, and The Kreutzer Sonata and focus on family values - the questions of love, adultery, and moral responsibility - as they are expressed in these works. All lectures and discussions are in English. Offered occasionally.

LC 350 Terrible Perfection: Women in Russian Literature and Film (LT, G)
M. Balina

In this course, we will examine the development of female characteristics in Russian literature and cinema. Special attention will be given to the women's role in Russian culture, society, and history. The course will focus on the investigation of the relationship between women and cultural traditions and women and political oppression. A wide range of Russian/ Soviet texts and films will be presented. Offered occasionally.

LC 380  Introduction to Literary Theory

Taught in English, this course introduces students to various formative stages of 20th-Century literary theory and their applications iwth emphases varying from year to year.  Open to all students interested in literature. Offered occasionally.