CLS: Comparative Literature Studies

College of Arts and Humanities

How to Read Course Descriptions

CLS 165. Introduction to World Literature. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to introduce students to literature representative of both Western and non-Western cultures and can be taken as an alternative to LIT 165. Not open to English majors.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Humanities Distributive Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

CLS 199. Transfer Credits. 1-10 Credits.

Transfer Credits.
Repeatable for Credit.

CLS 201. Classical Greco Roman Myth in 20th Century Arts. 3 Credits.

The study of Greeks and Roman mythology and its' influence on 20th and 21st century Western culture.
Gen Ed Attribute: Classical Civilizations Culture Cluster, Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Interdisciplinary Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

CLS 203. African Studies. 3 Credits.

This course studies African culture through literature, anthropology, and history. It focuses on the socio-cultural and historical contexts of African writing through the colonial and postcolonial periods.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement.

CLS 255. 20TH Century Native American Literature. 3 Credits.

An examination of 20th century Native American Literature.

CLS 258. Women's Literature I. 3 Credits.

A survey of world women's literature from 800 B.C. to 1800. Readings are chosen from the works of Sappho, Aspasia, Diotima, Mutta, Auvaiyar, Sei Shonagan, Sule Sankavya, Murasaki, Hildegard, von Bingen, Mirabai, Marguerite de Navarre, Phillis Wheatley, Aphra Behn, Madame de Stael, Jane Austen, and Fanny Burney among others.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement.

CLS 259. Women's Literature II. 3 Credits.

A survey of women's literature from 1800 to the present. Readings are chosen from the works of Harriet Jacobs, Ida B. Wells, Louisa Alcott, Charlotte Bronte, Jean Rhys, Virginia Woolf, Marguerite Duras, Christa Wolf, Merce Rodoreda, Jamaica Kincaid, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Alifa Rifaat, Louise Erdrich, Cherrie Moraga, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Arundati Roy among others.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement.

CLS 260. World Literature I. 3 Credits.

A survey of world literary texts from pre-classical times to 1600.
Gen Ed Attribute for Students Admitted Prior to Fall 2020: Diversity Requirement, Humanities Distributive Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Gen Ed Attribute for Students Admitted Fall 2020 and After: Diversity Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

CLS 261. World Literature II. 3 Credits.

A survey of world literary texts from 1600 to the present.
Gen Ed Attribute for Students Admitted Prior to Fall 2020: Humanities Distributive Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Gen Ed Attribute for Students Admitted Fall 2020 and After: Writing Emphasis.

CLS 270. Life, Death, and Disease. 3 Credits.

A course treating the study of literary works, film, and selected readings from other areas (history, science, fiction, and nonfiction) to generate an understanding of the relationship of human values to medicine, illness, and issues of related importance to physicians.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement, Writing Emphasis.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

CLS 280. Languages of Modernism. 3 Credits.

A study of modernist ideas and aesthetics across cultures in film, art and theatre.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement.

CLS 304. Women and Film. 3 Credits.

An examination of the role of women in contemporary world cinema and the feminist film.

CLS 333. Latina Writing. 3 Credits.

An examination of the literary works produced by Latinas in the 20th century. The study of this literature will include a cross-cultural approach that will elucidate sociopolitical themes emerging from the texts.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Spanish Culture Cluster.
Typically offered in Fall.

CLS 334. Politics and Economics Lit of Modern Amer. 3 Credits.

A comparative historical and literary examination of political and economic issues reflected in 20th century U.S. and Latin American literature. The study of representative texts of various genres will also elucidate issues of race, class and gender.
Gen Ed Attribute: Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Spanish Culture Cluster.

CLS 335. Latino Literature in the U.S.. 3 Credits.

This course examines the history of Latino groups (e.g. Mexicans, Cubans and South Americans) in the U.S. through literary texts written by Latinos and studies the cultural, economic and political experiences leading to their acculturation or alienation in mainstream America.
Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity Requirement, Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Spanish Culture Cluster.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.
Cross listed courses CLS 335, ESP 335.

CLS 350. Computer Applications in the Humanities. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the computer and its applications in a number of humanistic disciplines (literature, history, and writing, but some attention also will be given to foreign languages, linguistics, music, and art).

CLS 351. African Literature. 3 Credits.

A study of the representation of Africa through the perspectives of African and non-African writers.

CLS 362. World Lit - Modern Fiction. 3 Credits.

This course seeks to develop and to extend an understanding of the basic elements of fiction. The student will be exposed to a range of fictional practices and diverse traditions of world fiction.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

CLS 364. Eastern European Literature and Film. 3 Credits.

A critical-analytical approach to Soviet and Eastern European film covering major movements and theory since WWII.

CLS 365. African American Film. 3 Credits.

This course will study the history, form, and content of African-American film. The films chosen are from various genres and cover older and contemporary films.

CLS 367. Classical Greco Roman Mythology. 3 Credits.

A survey of Greek and Roman mythology from Homer to Ovid.
Gen Ed Attribute: Classical Civilizations Culture Cluster, Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Writing Emphasis.

CLS 368. Greco Roman, Culture, Myth & Society. 3 Credits.

The study of the Trojan War myth cycle in Greek and Roman mythology through literature, history, and art from Homer through the Latin Middle Ages and the way this myth reflects the culture and society of the texts in question.
Gen Ed Attribute: Classical Civilizations Culture Cluster, Foreign Language Culture Cluster, Interdisciplinary Requirement, Writing Emphasis.

CLS 369. Literature and Film. 3 Credits.

The interrelationship between selected works of world fiction and their film adaptations.
Gen Ed Attribute: Writing Emphasis.

CLS 371. Law and Disorder in Literature. 3 Credits.

A look at the presentational aspects of law, legal writing and oral argument, its constructions in narrative-law as literature and literature as law, and the relationship of law to anthropology, psychology, history, and sociology.
Gen Ed Attribute: Interdisciplinary Requirement, Writing Emphasis.