students learn to interpret and evaluate literary and cultural products from multiple origins and in languages other than their own. They are trained to present persuasive arguments, to master and use different theoretical and methodological tools, and to engage in dialog with scholarly voices both within the field of Comparative Literature and in other modern (and classical) language fields. CLT students undertake substantial writing and original research projects in multiple linguistic traditions in preparation for careers both within the academy and beyond.

What is comparative literature?

Comparative Literature is dedicated to the study of literature in the broadest possible framework interlinguistic, intercultural, and interdisciplinary. Defined broadly, it is the study of "literature without walls." So its about making comparisons and connections between all sorts of literary and cultural realms. It is the study of literature

• -  across national borders and national languages
• -   across time periods
•  -  across genres
•   - across boundaries between literature and the other arts (music, painting, architecture, dance, film, etc.)
•  - across disciplines: literature and psychology, philosophy, science, history, politics, etc. 

Why study comparative literature?

You will enjoy studying comparative literature if you:

-   enjoy reading

-   like to question what you read and experience

-   are interested in other languages, cultures, and ways of thinking

-   prefer a program of study that allows you a maximum amount of flexibility and independence

A major or concentration in Comparative Literature is an excellent foundation for further work at the graduate level in almost any field. It also prepares students to work in any field where critical thinking, strong writing skills and foreign-language competence and a sophisticated understanding of cultural difference and diversity are called for. CLT also works very well as a double major. Since a double major allows sharing of up to four courses (12 hours), certain combinations of majors (CLT and English, Drama, Classics, Modern Languages) may result in a reduction of the total number of courses required for one of the majors.

Moreover, because of the flexibility of the program, your CLT major can be a complement to your other major, allowing you to further investigate a topic that you are already focusing on in your other field, from a different perspective or in the comparative mode. For example, an English student who studied the works of James Joyce for senior novel could write a CLT thesis comparing James Joyce and a German or French avant-garde writer. An art/CLT double major could write their thesis on a connection between a work of art and a literary text or film. Even fields of interest for which no courses are offered at the moment (e.g. Scandinavian literature or Russian film) may be accommodated within the CLT major.