Comparative Literature from 1800 to 1900

This course provides an introduction to 19th century literature, from the Romantic period early in the 1800s to the fin-de-siècle writers. Authors and works covered in the course are Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Fiodor Dostojevski's Crime and Punishment, Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, August Strindberg's A Dream Play and Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. In addition there is a representative selection of the poetical works of the period as well as important literary essays and literary criticism. The course gives an introduction to some of the most prominent traditions in the 19th century European literary canon. While the emphasis is on literary analysis and history, the works treated are also discussed within broader historical, philosophical, and social contexts.

Candidates have acquired the following qualifications after having completed the course:

- has good knowledge of the European literary tradition from the early 18th century Romanticism till the turn of the century

- understands literature in an extensive aesthetic, historical and cultural context

- has knowledge of and has the ability to employ the analytical tools of comparative literature

- has the ability to perform a literary analysis and communicate essential academic subject matters in writing

Lectures and group studies including written assignments. Course requirements: 1-2 compulsory activities including at least one approved written assignment (4-5 pages) with feedback. Time frame: 1/2 semester (January - March).