Global Arc

A study of the major forms and traditions of American literature during the earlier 19th century, with main emphasis on such writers as Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Thoreau, Dickinson, and Whitman. The artistic achievement of these writers will be studied in relation to developing literary conventions and cultural patterns in pre-Civil War America. Two 90-minute seminars.

A study of the development of American literature within the context of the shifting social, intellectual, and literary conventions of the period. Emphasis will be on the artistic achievement of writers such as James, Howells, Twain, Dreiser, Crane, Adams, Wharton, Cather, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

From 18th-century fallen woman tales to 20th-century soap operas, melodrama has always offered exaggerated plot swings and wallowing emotions. Modern aesthetics often demands that writing be understated, that it show instead of tell; melodrama refuses to do these things. This course will examine a variety of sensational and emotive texts. Along the way we will consider distinctions between "high" and "low" art, we will examine morality tales about "good" and "bad" women, and we will interrogate the racial politics of sympathy.

This course will offer a survey of UK popular cinema from the 1920s to the present. We will investigate how this cinema tradition addresses questions of national identity and history: in the aftermath of the British Empire, what is England? How can popular cinema offer critique and reevaluation of social and economic crises? We will also trace the relationship between British cinema and Hollywood, from the origins of both of these national industries, through international obsessions like the Bond films, the unexpected success of Working Title rom coms of the 90s, and the influence of indie classics like Danny Boyle's Trainspotting.

An investigation of issues outside the scope of traditional surveys of American literature. Topics may include: definitions of "America," literature of the South, contemporary poetry, New Historicism, America on film, the Harlem Renaissance, the Vietnam War, the sentimental novel, colonial encounters, literature of the Americas, fictions of empire, Jewish American writers. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

An investigation of issues outside the scope of traditional surveys of American literature. Topics may include: definitions of "America," literature of the South, contemporary poetry, New Historicism, America on film, the Harlem Renaissance, the Vietnam War, the sentimental novel, colonial encounters, literature of the Americas, fictions of empire. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

The history of Japan from the origins of the Japanese people to the establishment of Tokugawa rule in 1600, using the epic war tale The Tale of the Heike as a lens. Particular emphasis will be placed on institutional and cultural history. One three-hour seminar.

The history of Japan during the period of Samurai rule. Distinctive features of Tokugawa society and culture from the foundation of the regime in 1600 to its decline in the 19th century, the opening of Japan to Western contact, the course of economic development, and the consolidation of the Meiji State. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course centers on a set on cinematic genres-melodrama, horror, and action-that have proven to be particularly suitable to global adaptation and appropriation. Their mobility may stem from the physical responses (tears, fright, violence) they represent or elicit. We will examine films from Hollywood, European, and East Asian cinemas to interrogate the question of cultural translatability, while at the same time reconsidering the social and cultural effects of genre itself. One of the central questions of our investigations will be: How do cinematic forms and their translation inform the discourses of nation and cultural difference?

The seminar explores the interplay of religious and aesthetic -- especially poetic -- practice in ancient China, and how the performance of texts in religious contexts contributed to the formation of Chinese cultural memory and identity from 1200 BCE through 200 CE. Combining anthropological, art historical, and literary analysis, the discussion centers on the performative nature and functions of texts and artifacts (including texts as material artifacts) in their social and religious spaces. Emphasis on close analysis of original texts (in English translation) and visuals.