Comparative Literature

Subsidiary Course

The course consists of three papers, each of 50 marks. The first paper aims to introduce
briefly the methodology of Comparative Literature, while the next two papers provide
some glimpses of the scope of Comparative Literature.

NOTE: The official language of instruction for the course will be English, and most of
the study materials will be in English. Therefore students must have adequate reading
skill in English. The teachers, however, will make every attempt to conduct the classes
bilingually (in English and Bangla). Students are always encouraged to read a text in its
original language and/or consult as many translations as possible. They will also have the
option to write answers either in English or in Bangla/their major language.

First Paper

Comparative Literature: Concept and Scope

This paper is divided into two major segments. The first segment will discuss the
methodology of comparative literature including the following topics:

[20 marks]
 What is Comparative Literature?
 Why ‘comparative’ literature?
 Comparative Indian Literature
 Relationship between Comparative Literature and Single Literature disciplines.
 Relationship between CL and Social Sciences
 Methodology: historiography, thematology, genology
 Reception aesthetics
 CL and other arts.
 CL and Translation Studies
 CL and Media Studies

(No primary texts, only lectures. Necessary study materials will be provided by the
teacher.)

The second segment will focus on 6 primary texts which will be used to elaborate the
above theories. Choice of the texts may vary from year to year.

Select prose pieces: [30 marks]

(Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe/ Rabindranath Thakur/ Kaji Najrul Islam/ Mathew Arnold/
Premchand/ Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain/ Rajshekhar Basu/ R.K Narayan/ Manik
Bandyopadhyay/ Amrita Pritam/ Mahasweta Devi/ Ismat Chughtai/ Nabaneeta Dev Sen/
Ambai/ Indira Goswami/ Gopinath Mohanty/ Rajendra Yadav/ Yashpal/ Bhisam Sahani/
Takazi Sivasankara Pillai/ S.N Pendse/ Jyotirmoyee Devi/ Pratibha Basu/ Banaphul/
Basheer/ T.R Subba Rao/ Sadat Hasan Manto/ Rajindar Singh Bedi/ Minakshi Sen/ Anita
Agnihotri/ Khuswant Singh/ Majoj Das/ Pratibha Roy/ U.R Anantamurti/ Machado de
Assis/ Fakirmohan Senapati/ Charles Dickens/ Jane Austin/ Gabriel Garcia Marquez/
Toni Morrison/ Akhtarujjaman Ilias/ Chandu Menon/ Juan Rulfo/ Rosario Castellanos/
Jorge Luis Borges/ Edgar Allan Poe/ William Faulkner/ Franz Kafka/ Chinua Achebe/
Buchi Emecheta/ Ngugi/ Mahasweta Devi/Sandra Cisneros/

Suggested Readings:

Ulrich Weisstein – Comparative Literature and Literary Theory, Amiya Dev – The Idea
of Comparative Literature in India; Amiya Dev and Sisir Kumar Das (eds.) –
Comparative Literature: Theory and Practice; Swapan Majumdar – Comparative
Literature: Indian Dimensions.

Second Paper

Literary Transactions

This paper elaborates the relationships and interactions between various Indian literatures
(e.g., Bangla, Oriya, Hindi, Asamiya, Tamil etc.) and shows how comparative reading can
contribute towards a better understanding of the literary and cultural scenario. The paper
is divided into two major segments. The first segment focuses on Intra-Indian literary
transactions while the second segment involves case study.

A. Intra-Indian Literary Transactions [35 marks]

Primary Texts:
Selected poems from Bhakti and Sufi traditions (15 poems)
(Nammalvar/ Andal/ Basavanna/ Akka Mahadevi/ Candidasa/ Sankardev/ Tukaram/
Surdas/ Mira/ Kavir/ Ramprasad/ Amir Khusrau/ Ghalib)

Two Plays (Bhasa/ Sudraka/ Kalidasa/ Bharatendu Harishchandra/ Rabindranath Thakur/

Vijay Tendulkar/ Girish Karnad/ Utpal Dutt/ )

B. Journey of a Text: Case Study [15 marks]

This section will study a particular case of literary transaction across language, time and
culture in order to demonstrate the process of reception. The choice of the case – and
accordingly that of the texts – may vary from year to year.
Suggested Readings:
Sisir Kumar Das – A History of Indian Literature; K.M George (ed.) – Encyclopedia of
Indian Literature; Masterpieces of Indian Literature, (NBT) 3 vols.; Sources of Indian
Traditions, (Penguin), 2 vols

Third Paper

Literature and the Other Arts

This paper aims to study the aesthetic and ideological interactions between literature and
other forms of art across culture, including the techniques and technologies. The paper
will include literary and non-literary texts on the following topics:
[50 marks]
 dance and literature
 theatre and literature
 music and literature
 painting/ sculpture/ architecture and literature
 literature and cinema
 literature and the electronic media
 composite forms

(No primary texts, only class lectures and where possible, screening/ lecture-
demonstrations by experts. Necessary study materials will be provided by the teacher.)