8 Comparative Literature Preparatory Programs

Throughout time, authors have struggled to find their location and identities in often chaotic and unsettling worlds. From the 8th century classical Chinese poet Du Fu, to the Native American novelist Louise Erdrich, creative writers have tried to find company and community to guide them.

The Comparative Literature program trains students in literary history and literary theory through courses in literature, theory, criticism, aesthetics, and translation. Students in Comparative Literature come from over twenty-five countries and are native speakers of as many languages. They bring a range of cultural and intellectual interests and have given the program in Comparative Literature at the Graduate Center an international character second to none that mirrors New York City in all its depth and complexity.

Comparative Literature is the study of literature across languages, cultures, time periods, and genres as well as the study of the relationship between literature and other fields of knowledge. An essential feature of such study is the reading of texts in their original language(s) of composition. The study of Comparative Literature promotes an understanding of intercultural or cross-cultural relations and helps to foster a more international or cosmopolitan perspective of both literature and the world and, in turn, of one's own literature and culture.

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 socio-cultural functions of literature. Besides representing literary and cultural study with a global reach, the Comparative Literature major aims to develop student analytic and interpretive skills that are the hallmark of liberal arts education. By promoting sustained engagement with language(s) and texts, our program encourages majors to become attuned to the complexities of human communication within and across many borders.

Williams has a vibrant and exciting program in comparative literature, characterized by a range of course offerings and by an energetic and collegial group of faculty who cooperate across departments to support the program. Comp Lit at Williams involves the study of literature from multiple cultural traditions in order to appreciate the variety, the complexity, and the breadth of what literature can be and do.

Students interested in examining literature through an international perspective and with an eye to its socio-cultural functions will find a vibrant academic home in the Haverford-Bryn Mawr Comparative Literature department. Drawing on faculty and resources from both colleges, we offer a rigorous major that embodies the highly interdisciplinary nature of the field and fuels the diverse interests of our students.

This challenging graduate diploma highlights the comparative, multilingual, cross-cultural nature of a student’s graduate training. In the case of MA students, it provides promising opportunities for further study in related disciplines; in the case of PhD students, it can lead to prospective careers in a range of areas requiring a high level of cross-cultural competency and literacy from government to the global creative industries.

The study of classical civilisation is understandably a wide-ranging and far-reaching one encompassing a variety of subjects; history, literature, linguistics, numismatics, epigraphy, archaeology, art, architecture and philosophy.