Reading across cultures

Literature is often seen as a representative aspect of a specific culture, language and nation. But what constitutes the cultural, linguistic or national traits and traditions of any literary work is often a matter of contention. In this unit, you will be introduced to a number of literary texts and scholarly concepts that interrogate such defining parametres. In particular, our focus will be on the lens of race, class, sex and gender that informs how literature is studied now. Led by the field of Cultural Studies that emerged circa 1960s, this unit will offer insights into diverse socio-historical and aesthetic-intellectual environments that govern the contemporary study of literature. You will explore texts through methodologies that examine how literature has negotiated, and continues to negotiate, identities in transnational and global contexts. You will have the opportunity to study a range of texts that bring to light connections between and among cultures, as well as learn about the theoretical terms, conceptual methods and contextual frameworks that underpin such study.