Comparative Literature or English?

Hi there, was just wondering if anyone could tell me the difference between Comparative Literature and English, and which one I should take? They both require very similar grades and I'm struggling to discern what the difference is between the two courses, if any? Are they taught by different departments at KCL?

Reply 1

louisahm26

They are quite different so I would have a proper look at the structure of both courses before you make your decision. (I am just coming to the end of my first year on the Comp Lit course.) Essentially, Comp Lit is world literature so you will be studying lots of texts in translation from a variety of cultures as well as different genres (so not just novels but poetry, theoretical texts, chapters in journals, non-fiction etc.), whereas the English course is much more traditional and obviously mostly just English texts. There is quite a lot of flexibility in module choices for Comp Lit as you can choose four of your modules in first year including ones from the English department, whereas you can only choose one in first year on the English course. Also, there is a language requirement on the Comp Lit course so you have to study one module containing a language a year - this is way less scary than it sounds as it basically means you can read a book in its original language if you've done a language A level (eg I did French A level so I read a book in French and wrote an essay on it - in English but quoting in French). If you haven't got a language A level you have to do a language class in your first year to get you up to speed and then it's just a book a year after that. They were vaguely talking about scrapping the language requirement though so it's worth checking.

Sorry for the huge essay but I hope that clarified things somewhat as I don't think it's made particularly clear on the website! I love studying Comp Lit if that sways your decision at all :smile: