Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2026 - WL 103W D100

Early World Literatures (3)

Class Number: 2770

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 5 – Apr 10, 2026: Mon, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Introduces ways of comparing early world literatures across time and space. May explore fundamental themes such as love, heroism, or the underworld. Writing/Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

What can literature teach us about the power of love? What can love teach us about seeing and being in the world? We will read how writers and thinkers across cultures and centuries have experienced and defined love. From Plato’s Diotima, who sees love as a process of education that guides us to see beauty and wisdom, to Dante’s Beatrice, who embodies hope and salvation, to Rumi’s poetics of love as a religion, we will explore how love transforms our existence. Exploring the tie between lover and beloved, we will see what happens when love faces judgment and social conflict, beauty and metamorphosis, madness and death, the ineffable and the inception of the poetic.  Readings will include Plato’s Symposium, Ovid’s “Echo and Narcissus”, Dante’s La Vita Nuova and the Divine Comedy, Nezami’s Leyla and Majnun, along with poetry by Rumi.

Grading

  • Attendance/Active Participation 10%
  • Midterm Writing Exam 20%
  • Midterm Exam AI Reflection + Rewrite 10%
  • Final In-Class Paper 30%
  • Final Paper AI Reflection + Rewrite 10%
  • Art Project + Reflection 5%
  • Writing Exercises + Rewrites 15%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

  • Plato’s Symposium
  • Ovid’s “Echo and Narcissus” in the Metamorphosis
  • Dante Alighiehri’s La Vita Nuova (selections)
  • Dante Alighiehri’s Divine Comedy (selections)
  • Nezami Ganjavi’s Leyla and Majnun
  • Jallaladin Rumi’s Poems (selections)

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.