Foreign Language In Translation (FLIT)

The minor in Foreign Literature in Translation (FLIT) recognizes that many students may be interested in foreign culture and literature but may not have the language skills to read all texts in the original language. A FLIT minor is an attractive option for these students, and opens up a world of possibilities through literature, cinema, folklore, and culture. Many of our FLIT courses fulfill various requirements of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences (ECAS): the General Education Curriculum (GEC), the ECAS Fine Arts requirement, the ECAS International Studies requirement, and the writing-course requirement. FLIT courses also serve as an excellent introduction to the cultures of our world, and a wonderful gateway to foreign languages. We offer an exciting and interesting array of courses on a dependable rotation, enabling students to complete the minor with relative ease.

The FLIT minor requires a selection of 15 hours of FLIT courses, nine of which must be on the upper-division level. At least two national literatures or cultures must be represented in the selection. The following courses are currently available on a regular basis:

Current FLIT numbers and designations:

113. Introduction to French Literature. 3 Hr. This course will examine major writers and representative movements in French literature. Texts and films will be presented chronologically in terms of the historical period treated by each and have been chosen specifically to allow students to explore the relationships between French literature and history. Authors on the program include Hugo, Rostand, Beaumarchais, Mérimée, Flaubert, Sartre, and Wiesel. In English. Lecture/Discussion. (Counts for GEC 5 and 8)

214: The Italian American Experience. 3 Hr. This course will investigate literary and historical perspectives on the experience of Italians in the United States and their contribution to U.S. culture. The approach will be multi-disciplinary. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Counts for GEC 7 and 8)

215. African Women Writers. 3 Hr. This course will examine selected works by African women writers and filmmakers. Works will all be read (or subtitled) in English; no other language is required. These texts, created originally in French, English, Portuguese, and Arabic, have been chosen specifically to demonstrate: 1) a diversity of representative styles and narrative approaches, 2) the various political and social contexts within which they were produced, and 3) numerous perspectives on both African women’s writing and African women’s roles in society. Lecture/discussion. (Counts for GEC 5 and 9)

220. Chinese Civilization and Culture. 3 Hr. This is a survey course that introduces Chinese cultural history including institutions, language, philosophy, religion, art, literature, family and marriage, and Chinese social etiquette. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Counts for GEC 3 and 9)

221. Chinese Literature in Translation I. 3 Hr. Readings in the literature of China from its beginnings through the end of the imperial China in 1911; attention to major writers and genres; focus on literary history. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Available as a Writing class) (Counts for GEC 5 and 9)

222. Japanese Literature in Translation. 3 Hr. Survey of Selected works of Japanese literature from ancient period to the mid-nineteenth century and an introduction to a few works of the modern period.

223. Chinese Literature in Translation II. 3 Hr. Selected Chinese literary works since 1911; attention to major writers (including Lu Xun, Yu Dafu, Xiao Hong, Eileen Chang, and Liu Heng) and genres. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Available as a Writing class) (Counts for GEC 5 and 9)

233. German Literature Since World War II. 3 Hr. This German Literature in Translation course focuses on significant works of literature and film from the German-speaking countries written over the course of the last sixty years. Via short stories, plays, novels, and films, participants will become familiar with important artists and intellectuals of the German-speaking world and learn about various phases of cultural and political life in the Federal Republic, the German Democratic Republic, and unified Germany. The readings, discussions, presentations, written responses and exams should increase participants’ understanding of post-war and contemporary German literature and culture while simultaneously encouraging them to make cross-cultural comparisons, to recognize their own cultural biases, and to strengthen their interpretive abilities. In English. Lecture/discussion.

261. French Literature in Translation I. 3 Hr. Selected French works from the Middle Ages to the end of the eighteenth century. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Counts for GEC 5 and 8)

262. French Literature in Translation II. 3 Hr. Examines selected French or Francophone literary works from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present, and establishes their connection to literary trends as well as cultural, socio-historical and philosophical contexts. Works will be read in English; no other language is required. Lecture/discussion. (Counts for GEC 5 and 8)

263: French Women Writers. 3 Hr. Examines selected works by women writing in French from a variety of time periods and geographical locations; introduces concepts of feminist literary criticism and draws on the connections of the author to literary, cultural and sociological trends. Works will be read in English; no other language is required. Lecture/discussion.

263. French Women Writers. 3 Hr. Selected works of French women writers. Lecture/discussion.

266. Introduction to Francophone Literature. 3Hr. This course will examine Francophone African and Caribbean literature within a cultural context. The works on the program have been selected to represent various genres, regions, themes, and styles. They extend chronologically from the 13th century through the colonial period to the present. Lectures and discussions will explore these works in order to identify both their African or Caribbean elements as well as those qualities that link them to other literatures. Special attention will be given to the representation of women and to the contributions of women writers. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Counts for GEC 5 and 9)

272. Russian Fairy Tales. 3 Hr. Introduces a wide selection of Russian Fairy Tales and examines the aesthetic, social, and psychological values that they reflect; general introduction to the study of folklore with a broad spectrum of approaches (psychoanalysis, structuralist, feminist). In English. Lecture/discussion. (Available as a Writing class) (Counts for GEC 5 and 9)

273. Russian Literature in Translation 1. 3 Hr. Major works of Russian authors from the beginning to 1880, including those of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol’, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy. In English. Lecture/Discussion. (Available as a Writing class) (Counts for GEC 5 and 8)

274. Russian Literature in Translation 2. 3 Hr. Major works of twentieth-century Russian and Soviet Literature, including Bulgakov, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, and Pelevin. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Available as a Writing class) (Counts for GEC 5 and 8)

275. Sci Fi: East/West. 3 Hr. Comparison of science fiction texts, film, and TV from Eastern and Central Europe and the US and UK, analyzing works that posit “fantastic” spatial, temporal, social, and biological explorations beyond those currently verified by science. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Available as a Writing class) (Counts for GEC 5 and 6)

276. Vampire: Blood and Revolution! 3 Hr. This course examines the phenomenon of vampirism in verbal and visual culture from different periods in various cultures from a variety of perspectives and contextualizes the works in the cultures that produced them. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Counts for GEC 5 and 6)

321. Chinese Cinema. 3 Hr. A study of representative films from Mainland China/Hong Kong/Taiwan from the early twentieth century to the present; attention to the socio-political, economic, technological and aesthetic factors that have influenced Chinese cinema; films subtitled. In English. Lecture/Discussion. (Counts for GEC 5 and 9)

340. Italian Cinema 1945 to Present. 3 Hr. This course will introduce students to key topics of modern Italian culture and history as explored through cinema. It will focus on a selection of Italian films from World War II to the present. Each film will be presented and analyzed in class in chronological order. Each film will provide information about Italian history, culture, politics, economic situations, lifestyle and social transformation in the 20th century. This class is taught in English and all films are in Italian with English subtitles. Lecture/Discussion.

371. The Holocaust in East European Film and Literature. 3Hr. Extending beyond familiar representations of the Holocaust, this course examines verbal and visual texts testifying to events and experiences of the Nazi Holocaust in the context of several nations of Eastern Europe. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Available as a Writing class) (Counts for GEC 5 and 6)

372. Contemporary Polish Cinema. 3 Hr. This course studies contemporary Polish cinema from World War II to the present, examining films in both their aesthetic and socio-historical contexts as part of European and Polish national cinematic traditions. In English. Lecture/discussion. (Available as a Writing class) (Counts for GEC 5 and 8)

373. Polish Cinema: Kieślowski. 3 Hr. Studies the cinematic career of one of Poland’s most important directors of the past fifty years; designed to allow both cinema devotees and untrained filmgoers to appreciate Kieślowski’s oeuvre. In English. Lecture/Discussion. (Available as a Writing class) (Counts for GEC 5 and 8).