Course Description
A survey of European literature of the Romantic period, 1780- 1840, this course covers a wide range of nations and genres - from England to Russia, from poetry to opera - exploring the artistic, cultural, and historical significance of this movement in its own time and in ours.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Additional reading, research, and writing assignments.
Athena Title
Madness Monsters Monks
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
- to introduce students to major works of literature from the Romantic period, with special emphasis on the relevance of these texts to contemporary society around the world, including he U.S.; - to teach students about Romanticism as both a literary movement and a broader movement in the arts and in culture as a whole; - to trace the development of the Romantic period in various nations; -to improve students' critical skills through the analysis of individual works of literature; - to develop students' communication skills through oral presentations and expository writing assignments. Students' performances will be assessed through presentations, papers, tests, and a final examination.
Topical Outline
The course is organized around a series of readings of major works of Romantic literature, with special emphasis on the relevance of the texts under discussion to contemporary society;. The topics and works selected vary with the instructor, but generally the following issues are considered: the sublime and the grotesque; the supernatural and the authentically human; the relation of romanticism to classicism, European Enlightenment, Modernism and Postmodernism; romanticism and revolution; the distinctions between national (and regional) romanticisms and romanticism as a global phenomenon; and the romantic interest in dreams and death. The following is a sample syllabus of readings for a single semester: Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Reveries of the Solitary Walker Novalis. Henry von Ofterndingen ETA Hoffmann. Tales of Hoffmann Heinrich von Kleist. The Marquise of O and Other Stories Mary Shelley. Frankenstein Gerard de Nerval. Aurelia and Other Writings Lermentov. A Hero of Our Times J-K Huysmans. Against Nature
Syllabus