Although largely misunderstood by most white Americans, 85% of the world’s population is not from European descent. And yet, the global majority of people on this planet throughout human history produced a stunning array of cultural, political, and artistic products that are separate from and respond to Western ideas of aesthetics and meaning. The literature of this Global Majority, in particular, constitutes a vast array of narrative structures, poetic forms, and linguistic variety in and out of traditional texts. In this class, we will be looking at a small swatch of literature produced by non-European and hybrid writers of all kinds from antiquity to contemporary times; from folk and fairy tales to poetry, plays, and novels; from ancient China and Mesopotamia to modern India, Africa, and Latin America. We will also focus on questions of decolonization, identity, nationality, technology, and globalization.World Literature Survey is a literary survey course intended for first-year Writing and LIterature Majors and Minors covering written literary history from pre-history roughly through the European Renaissance in literary cultures across the globe. WRLIT majors may take World LIterature Survey in lieu of Introduction to the Arts.

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