Global Literature is a thematic introduction to selected literary texts that have greatly influenced culture around the world. This critical exploration of world literature emphasizes how literature is constructed, how it describes the human experience, how cultural movements (historical, intellectual, religious, political, etc.) influence and are influenced by the works studied, and how we talk about literature’s interrelationships with time, place, culture, and other contexts. Texts will be selected from a diverse group of authors, traditions, and periods with an emphasis on gaining insights into the foundations of our contemporary global civilization.