About the Program

The study of Comparative Literature situates literature in an international perspective; examines transnational cultural connections through literary history, literary criticism, critical theory, and poetics; and works toward a nuanced understanding of the sociocultural functions of literature. The structure of the program allows students to engage in such diverse areas of critical inquiry as East-West cultural relations, global censorship and human rights, diaspora studies, film history and theory, and aesthetics of modernity. Therefore, interpretive methods from other disciplines also play a role in the comparative study of literature; among these are anthropology, ethnology, philosophy, history, history of art, religion, classical studies, area studies (Africana studies, Middle Eastern studies, Latin American studies, among others), gender studies, and other arts.

Comparative literature students are required to have a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language adequate to the advanced study of literature in that language. Some comparative literature courses may require reading knowledge of a foreign language as a prerequisite for admission. Students considering graduate work in comparative literature should also study a second foreign language.