Seminar, three hours. Designed for upper-division literature majors. Analysis of use of historical events, situations, and characters in literary works of Renaissance and/or modern period. Texts and individual assignments range from Renaissance historical narratives (Italian humanists, Machiavelli) to 19th- and 20th-century novels by authors such as Stendhal, Verga, Tomasi di Lampedusa, Carpentier, and Kundera. Use of fictional methods by historians. Emphasis on how aesthetic, ideological, and political factors influence authors' choice and use of historical material. May be concurrently scheduled with course C261. P/NP or letter grading.