Find Out More
To find out more about the comparative literature major, contact David Powelstock, visit the Registrar's Web site, or download the Comparative Literature Major Sheet.
How to Become a Major
All students are welcome to enroll in any course in the program unless prerequisites are stipulated. Students interested in learning more about the comparative literature major are encouraged to speak with the undergraduate advising head for comparative literature. Keep in mind that three literature courses must be taken in a language other than English. Students are strongly encouraged to spend at least one semester abroad, preferably in a country whose primary language is not English.
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Learning Goals for Comparative Literature Major
Requirements for the Major
The major in comparative literature requires a minimum of nine courses, distributed as follows:A. COML 100a (Comparing Literatures: Theory & Practice) to be taken as early as possible in the student's academic career.
B. Three upper-level literature courses taught in a language other than English. Normally they are numbered 100 and above, exclusive of language skills courses. The three courses may be drawn from more than one language tradition.
C. Four upper-level courses in COML or any of the courses offered by other departments or programs that are cross-listed below. These courses will bridge more than one national literature or literary tradition and engage in cross-cultural examination.
D. One additional literature course. This course need not be comparative.
No course with a grade below a C- will count toward the major; nor will a course taken pass/fail.
No more than three courses may count toward any other major, and no more than two courses in film studies may be counted toward the comparative literature major.
The program encourages students to incorporate a historical focus into their comparative literature curriculum, and to consider beginning or continuing the study of a second foreign literature in the original.
Students who wish to pursue honors must enroll in COML 99d, normally in the senior year, and complete a thesis. One semester of thesis research may substitute for an an upper-level comparative course. A senior project is required only of students pursuing honors.