Comparative literature

I would really appreciate it if any undergraduate students of comparative literature would please let me know how the degree/course is? is it any good and do you enjoy it?

Reply 1

moderatedbliss

I"m doing Comparative Literature and Sociology at an institution in California. I enjoy it immensely; I was originally only Sociology but felt compelled to pick up Comparative Lit. It's very interdisciplinary, which I believe is a good thing, but which others may (perhaps?) think is a bad thing. You read a myriad of works from different countries and time periods, often drawing comparisons between different literary movements. You also compare different mediums.. for example I took a class that compared literature and photography and looked at specific example of photography being used in literature. There is a fair amount of theory involved, which I find interesting but not everybody enjoys. It's primarily critical theory and cultural studies stuff, which you're going to find in Sociology, History, philosophy, Film, and other disciplines as well. I opted to go the cultural studies route because I was late in declaring Comparative Literature as a major and opted to the "cultural studies" route, but most universities either recommend or require studying another language in conjunction with your literary studies. I'm set to do an MA in comparative lit starting Fall of '14 in the UK.

My list of favorite authors is very diverse, and I felt like doing an English major would be far too limiting. Comparative Literature professors are often very intelligent, speaking multiple languages and often having lived in other countries for periods of time.

Feel free to ask me anything else!

Reply 2

Zeal17

Wow! I found this incredibly useful! Thank you so much! :smile:

I've done major research on this course and just really wanted to hear from someone who actually does it. Thanks so much. I am currently doing Sociology at A level and find ot so interesting! I can imagine it is a great combination with comparative literature! What do you intend to do after you MA in comp lit? You're coming to the UK in 2014?

Reply 3

moderatedbliss

Not a problem!

Yeah, I originally did just Sociology, but always found myself relating what I had learned in Sociology to books I had read on my own. I think literature is a great medium to express Sociological ideas. There's a ton of theoretical overlap, a lot of the main people you study in Sociology have either expressly written about literature or are expressly utilized in literature.

I'm not certain what I'm going to do after, I don't want to commit to a PhD (7-9 years in the U.S for a comp lit phd, usually), so I'll probably either teach English abroad or try to find a job.. at least for a while. For me, the MA will more or less be "testing the waters" of academia.. I'd like to experience the real world before I commit to a PhD.

Yeah! So far I've been admitted to University of Edinburgh and University College London (if anybody has any idea which would be better for comparative literature, your input is appreciated), although I also applied to Durham (for English), King's College London, Cambridge, Oxford, and University of Kent.

Reply 4

Zeal17

That's great! I wish you all the best in your decisions.
I think teaching is great. I'm looking to teach English with my comp lit degree. You seem to have so much passion for the subject which will take you very far. Wow those are good universities here and well done for getting offers from Edinburgh and UCL (UCL is pretty good)

Thanks again for your help! :smile:

Reply 5

moderatedbliss

Original post by Sarah277

Hello,

May I ask you some questions about the program? I plan to major in comparative literature :smile:

Thanks

Hey! Yes, of course. Keep in mind that I'm from the a small school from the States and I'm double majoring in both Sociology and Comparative Literature; but I'll try my best to answer any questions you may have.

Comparative literature

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