Skip to main content

Individual Course

Masterpieces of World Literature

Course Length

12 weeks

5-7 hours per week

Featuring faculty from:

Harvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences LogoHarvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences

Enroll as Individual

Certificate Price:

$ 299

Enroll as Individual

Certificate Price:

$ 299

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. Focusing mainly on works of literature that take the experience of the broader 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. The course will be delivered via edX and connect learners around the world.

Self-Guided

edX

  • Juan M.

Global Learning Community

  • Learn from Harvard faculty
  • Do it on your own time
  • Get a certificate, add it to your resume
  • Be part of the Harvard Community
Data Science for Business values
An example HarvardX certificate

Ways to take this course

Audit or Pursue a Verified Certificate

A Verified Certificate costs $299 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate.

⁠Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums. Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.

Faculty

Your Instructor

Martin Puchner

Byron and Anita Wien Professor of Drama and of English and Comparative Literature, Harvard University

Martin Puchner is a prize-winning author, educator, and public speaker. His writings range from philosophy and theater to world literature and emerging technologies.

Your Instructor

David Damrosch

Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature at Harvard University

Finished the Masterpieces of World Literature course. Beautiful course, I found inspiring commonalities between literature, humanities, culture, and the world of Design and its dynamics in a global context.

Juan M.

Stay tuned for more

Don’t miss a thing. Subscribe to our newsletter and get updates on exclusive content for Harvard Online learners.

Related Blogs