CMLIT 111Introduction to Literatures of India

3 credits · Comparative Literature · Penn State

CMLIT 111 Introduction to Literatures of India (3) (GH;IL)(BA) This course examines readings and cultural texts from India and other parts of South Asia, including both classical and modern texts from a variety of traditions. Readings from languages other than English will be in translation. You will read, discuss, and write about these texts from the viewpoint of race, gender, culture, religion, philosophy, and ethnicity in a comparative, global, and historical perspective. While improving your understanding of difference and diverse cultures, this course incorporates lesser known and even marginalized works by Asian writers in this study of cultural and social identities and contexts. CMLIT 111 will also help you understand the influence of classical texts, as well as classical and modern culture, on recent literary productions of South Asia. You will gain an understanding of different national literatures and cultures, as well as knowledge of the historical, philosophical, and political contexts that produced them. Ideas such as "the other," gender, and Orientalism will also be included in discussions of the texts. CMLIT 111 is one of the many choices of survey courses which count towards the Comparative Literature major and the World Literature minor. This course also fulfills the General Education Humanities requirement, the Bachelor of Arts Humanities requirement, and International Cultures requirement.