Photo of Matisse's Dance, 1910

Upcoming Events

The Dean of Arts and Sciences presents
European Cultural Studies Spring Lemon Cake Lecture
Co-sponsored by Comparative Literature and the Tauber Institute
Wed. March 21, 12-2pm, Shiffman 219
Gary Saul Morson
Frances Hooper Professor of the Arts and Humanities at Northwestern University
Wit and the Present Moment
Classified one way, the shortest literary genres -- wise sayings, apothegms, dicta, sardonic maxims, "thoughts" and others -- each express a particular view of life.   This talk explores the worldview of the witticism, in particular the kind of intelligence it values and its relation to time.  Wit demands cunning and presentness, while promising its own distinctive kinds of insights.   When longer works include witticisms, they must overcome the drawback of having been already written and so no longer present;  but doing so generates an even more interesting kind of wit.
Light lunch and lemon cake

Welcome

The European Cultural Studies Program (ECS) offers students the opportunity to study English and continental literature in translation in conjunction with one or more related disciplines: fine arts, history, music, philosophy, politics, sociology and theater arts.

ECS is for those students who feel intellectually adventurous, who want to explore the interrelationships of literature with various other disciplines in order to gain a broader perspective of what constitutes "culture." With the advent of an ever-changing Europe, students in ECS will be better prepared, in all areas, to keep abreast with current and future events.

Many of our students spend some time abroad to get a feel for the cultures in which they are most interested. ECS majors have gone on to graduate school (in history, politics, English and other fields), law school, business school and advanced programs in international studies.