Global Literature: How Learning About “Over There” Helps Us Understand “Over Here”

In this engaging lecture, award-winning University of Washington Professor Anu Taranath uses examples from global literature to showcase an extraordinary body of writing and suggest ways of reading that invite conversation on difficult topics, such as power, privilege, voice and agency.

By examining our similarities and differences, we begin to define ourselves and to determine where these definitions come from. Literature from around the globe helps us picture “people over there” and brings texture and depth to our lives “over here.”