1．Study the history of Western civilization through its literature and examine how the concept of the West has evolved over the centuries. 2. Acquire a good understanding of canonical Western literature from antiquity to the eighteenth century. 3. Study the origin and development of important literary genres such as the epic, history writing, biography, the picaresque novel, utopian fiction, satire, and so forth. 4. Consider how the notion of the canon, that is, the understanding of which texts and authors make up the most important and influential writings of a specific literary tradition or civilization, changes over time. 5. Reflect on the ways in which Western literature differs from Chinese/Asian literature and develop new comparative, critical or interdisciplinary approaches with an East-West perspective.
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