This course studies Bildungsroman, the story of an individual's coming of age, in the context of twentieth-century political, cultural, and social developments of imperialism, anti-colonialism, human rights discourse, and globalization. Our focus will be novels from the (post)colonial world and theoretical essays on the Bildungsroman form. The course aims to provide a model for rethinking literary history and genres within a global context. Authors may include Yi Kwangsu, Wu Zhouliu, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Kang Younghill, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Camara Laye, amongst others.