Comparative Literature 293J - S-Gender & Global Literatures

Using the prisms of gender and sexuality studies, this course explores how "desire" is represented in global literatures. Adopting a comparative perspective, the course will examine representations of gendered, racialized, and sexualized bodies in contemporary works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and criticism. We will look at both the "local," in the United States, and the "global," in transnational contexts, including literatures from East/Central Europe and the Global South. The course will also explore how bodies and their literary representations shape and are shaped by our imaginings about nation, citizenship, and belonging. Authors may include Audre Lorde, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Oksana Zabuzhko, Mariama Ba, Carmen Maris Machado, Dubravka Ugresic, among others.