Senior Colloquium in Literary Studies
Although it is required of all Literary Studies senior majors, this course is intended for students working in any discipline who seek a close encounter with some of the greatest achievements of the literary imagination. In addition to being understood as distinctive artistic and philosophical accomplishments, the six major works which constitute the reading list will also be seen as engaged in a vital, overarching cultural conversation across temporal and geographical boundaries that might otherwise seem insurmountable. The texts for this semester are: Homer, The Odyssey; Gogol, Dead Souls; Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishmen/t; Kafka, /The Trial; Pirandello, Six Characters in Search of an Author and Henry IV/; Borges, Ficciones. (Open to non-majors with the approval of the instructor.) 3 hrs., seminar.