This course meets the introductory course requirement for Literary Studies majors and is intended for beginner Literary Studies students. This course will introduce students to some of the major themes and currents in early global literature, including the transition from oral to written culture, the emergence of forms and genres of storytelling, and the human and non-human character types that populate them. Readings may include African folklore and Aesopian fables, tales of Anansi and the Panchatantra, Enheduanna’s poetry, Gilgamesh, selections from the Old and New Testaments, the Qur'an, Rig Vedas, Tao Te Ching, Popol Vuh, Greek poetry and drama, and the development of prose narrative in 1001 Nights and the lais of Marie de France, among others. Tracking the often-surprising connections between story types and characters in different times, places, and traditions, students will gain familiarity with a host of foundational forms, such as creation myths, folklore and folk tales, fables, allegories, epics, poetry, and parables, as well as the complex uses that writers make of the material they inherit from their and other traditions.