EdX

Masterpieces of World Literature (edX)

Masterpieces of World Literature (edX)

Embark on a global journey to explore the past, present, and future of World Literature. This literature course explores how great writers refract their world and how their works are transformed when they intervene in our global cultural landscape today. No national literature has ever grown up in isolation from the cultures around it; from the earliest periods, great works of literature have probed the tensions, conflicts, and connections among neighboring cultures and often more distant regions as well.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see EdX's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Focusing particularly on works of literature that take the experience of the wider world as their theme, this course will explore the varied artistic modes in which great writers have situated themselves in the world, helping us to understand the deep roots of today's intertwined global cultures.

What you'll learn:

  • The history of World Literature
  • How literary works and books are transformed by cultural transmission
  • How to critically analyze literary works
  • The significance of major technological advances in writing

Syllabus

Section 1: Goethe and the Birth of World Literature
Section 2: The Epic of Gilgamesh
Section 3: Homer, The Odyssey
Section 4: The 1001 Nights
Section 5: Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji
Section 6: The Lusiads
Section 7: Voltaire, Candide
Section 8:Lu Xun and Eileen Chang
Section 9: Jorge Luis Borges, Ficciones
Section 10:Wole Soyinka, Death and the King's Horseman
Section 11:Salman Rushdie and Jhumpa Lahiri
Section 12: Orhan Pamuk, My Name is Red

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Shakespeare on the Page and in Performance: Young Love (edX) EdX
Wellesley College,WellesleyX

Shakespeare on the Page and in Performance: Young Love (edX)

Explore Shakespeare's plays of young love, Romeo & Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to learn what makes them so compelling and magical. This literature and theater course will delve into two wonderful plays of young love, Romeo & Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and try to bring alive what makes them so compelling and popular -- as both literature and drama.

No sessions available
3 Weeks
The Ancient Greeks (Coursera) Coursera
Wesleyan University

The Ancient Greeks (Coursera)

This is a survey of ancient Greek history from the Bronze Age to the death of Socrates in 399 BCE. Along with studying the most important events and personalities, we will consider broader issues such as political and cultural values and methods of historical interpretation.

Nov 16th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Introduction to Academic Writing (Coursera) Coursera
O.P. Jindal Global University

Introduction to Academic Writing (Coursera)

Welcome to the Introduction to Academic Writing course! By the end of this course, you will gain an in-depth understanding of reading and writing as essential skills to conduct robust and critical research. This course introduces you to critical reading and writing skills within the conventions of academic writing.

Nov 9th 2026
4 Weeks
Uncovering the Voices of Japanese Literature (edX) EdX
Waseda University,WasedaX

Uncovering the Voices of Japanese Literature (edX)

This course explores issues of agency in premodern and modern Japan. Discover many facets of the Japanese literary, theatrical, and intellectual traditions which, although important, are rarely taught around the world. This course will provide you with an introduction and a basis for further study in Japanese history, culture, literature, arts, and other areas which you may intend to explore in the future.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
The American Renaissance: Classic Literature of the 19th Century (edX) EdX
DartmouthX

The American Renaissance: Classic Literature of the 19th Century (edX)

Explore the writings of famous American authors from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Harriet Beecher Stowe to Mark Twain, and examine the historic role Dartmouth College played in their formation. What is the American Renaissance? How did Dartmouth help foster the formation of the American Renaissance and its reevaluation and reinvention in the twentieth? Why should we, as twenty-first century readers, concern ourselves with this literature?

Self Paced
4 Weeks
ChinaX Book Club: Five Authors, Five Books, Five Views of China (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

ChinaX Book Club: Five Authors, Five Books, Five Views of China (edX)

An exploration of the dynamics of contemporary China using the tools of close reading, discussion, and analysis. How can literature and literary analysis allow us to understand the dynamics of contemporary China? China’s historical and cultural transformations, and its imaginary and actual engagements in everyday life are vividly dramatized by five Chinese authors featured in this course.

Self Paced
Self-Paced