Introduction:

This introductory course ought to assist students in developing habits of mind that are comparative. Beginning with some broad concept (Romanticism, the Avant-Garde,) the initial questions would focus on that concept. Is the term meaningful, content-full? What is its usefulness and explanatory value as a heuristic device? Then questions would emerge about the deployment of the concept/term in various national/cultural/language contexts. Further, questions would emerge about the applicability of the concept/term in different areas of inquiry ad expression - literature, history, philosophy, art. Students would be asked to locate and interpret primary texts comparatively in relation to these contextual frameworks.