Comparative Literature

Comparative Literature originally grew out of a belief that literatures from different languages and different civilizations should be studied jointly, in order to better understand which aspects of literature could be attributed to local, historical influences, and which aspects might be common to literature-as-such, across national boundaries. Today, Comparative Literature still emphasizes the study of different literary traditions from across the world; however, it also implies the study of interrelationships of literature with other cultural practices and with other disciplines. So, for example, the kinds of questions you might study in Comparative Literature include: the relationship between literature and philosophy, psychology or politics; all problems in the field of literary criticism and theory; the study of broad currents of thought and style and of major literary schools; the study of literary genres and forms; the study of motifs and themes; the study of the presence of work of literature, an author, a whole literature, or even a country, region or culture in another national literature, region or culture; and the study of authors writing in different languages, but linked by contacts and intertextualities. Our program also includes international studies in popular culture and places increasing emphasis on popular literature genres and film, marginalized and post-colonial literature, and women's writing.

Field of study: Comparative Literature