This course introduces the Literature of Continental Europe, starting with its origins in the ancient Near East, and extending through the Classical Greek and Roman periods up to the early European Middle Ages. The course will emphasize a pedagogical approach that is best suited to Chinese students of Western languages and literatures. Featured will be the Near Eastern religious traditions; the development of Greek and Roman cultures; the evolution of the Indo-European languages; Western concepts of self, other, home, identity, family, nation, state, and justice, divinity, mythology, etc. Students will read, interpret, discuss and respond to important selections from The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, Vol 1. The course emphasizes the language, customs and foundations of culture in the ancient Near East, and relates the important features of ancient Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations transmitted through myths, legends, drama, poetic, epic and philosophical traditions. The movement from the ancient mythic past to the Christian world is traced through the readings from the Bible and St. Augustine.

After completing the course, students are expected to achieve the following objectives: 1. Be able to trace the historical and cultural evolution of Continental European literature from the ancient Near East, through Classical Greece and Rome. 2. Be able to analyze how shifting narrative forms—from mythological epics to intimate lyric poetry—reflect early human conceptualizations of cosmic order, mortality, and human existence. 3. Be able to evaluate the socio-political functions of ancient literature, examining how texts shaped civic morality, served imperial propaganda, and defined core Western concepts like justice, state, and identity. 4. Be able to critically interpret selected literary texts, applying a cross-cultural perspective tailored to help learners engage with foundational Western paradigms.

Horton, R. W., & Hopper, V. F. (1954). Backgrounds of European literature: the political, social, and intellectual development behind the great books of Western civilization.New York: New York University.