Private instruction available at any level with permission and arrangement of the instructor only during the first week of classes.

Semi-private instruction available at any level with permission and arrangement of the instructor only during the first week of classes.

Semi-private instruction available at any level with permission and arrangement of the instructor only during the first week of classes.

Semi-private instruction available at any level with permission and arrangement of the instructor only during the first week of classes.

Semi-private instruction available at any level with permission and arrangement of the instructor only during the first week of classes.

An introduction to some topics in African studies, reading and writing about such contemporary authors as Ama Ata Aidoo, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Bessie Head, Mariama Ba, Chimamanda Adichie. Studying both fiction and essays, the course focuses on recent political situations (Ghana, Congo, South Africa), on images of women, and on representations of Africa in news media and in cinema, both from Africa and the West.

This course will examine representations of figures not considered human, focusing on the nonhuman animal, with attention to the monster and the machine. We will analyze the verbal and visual techniques with which these figures are depicted, the social and political concerns they address, and the tenuous boundary between human and nonhuman. Authors, filmmakers, and critics may include Bierce, Cronenberg, Dunbar, Kafka, London, Martel, Moore, Poe, Ritvo, Scott, Wells, and Sewell.

This course will examine representations of figures not considered human, focusing on the nonhuman animal, with attention to the monster and the machine. We will analyze the verbal and visual techniques with which these figures are depicted, the social and political concerns they address, and the tenuous boundary between human and nonhuman. Authors, filmmakers, and critics may include Bierce, Cronenberg, Dunbar, Kafka, London, Martel, Moore, Poe, Ritvo, Scott, Wells, and Sewell.

This course will examine some key works of Irish literature and culture to understand issues central to the history and politics of Ireland, including colonialism, nationalism and national identity, gender relations, the politics of the Irish language, and sectarianism. We will also explore how the history of Ireland has led to particular literary and cultural forms. In addition to viewing films and examples of visual culture, we will read authors such as Swift, Edgeworth, Lady Wilde, Yeats, and Joyce.

This course examines literary representations ofworlds and world-making. We will explore how major British authorsinterpret the idea of the world, as well as how they construct fictionalworlds of complexity and beauty. We will consider how the notion of'world' is defined in relation to the cosmos, nature, human society,empire, and travel. A consistent theme will be the depiction of other ornew worlds, suggested by places that are remote, abstract, or imaginary.Readings may include Utopia, The Tempest, Paradise Lost, Gulliver's Travels, Robinson Crusoe, and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.