The Student Room Group

Comparative literature?

Anyone going to Uni to do this? Or anybody doing it already?

I'm going to do it as one of my three subjects in my first year at Glasgow University (along with Film & French.)
I've been looking over the course and module descriptions and the reading lists and getting very excited! :p:
The modules sound fascinating, the first one is about the Male Hero, the second about the Female Hero. Gender studies and feminism are all tied into it which makes me very happy - I would have loved to do gender studies but the only Uni which offered it in Scotland was Aberdeen and I didn't want to go all the way up there.
Plus, Harry Potter is on the reading list for the first module! :biggrin: I'm a total Harry Potter fangirl, and I think it'd be awesome to study it from an academic and cultural perspective.

Other books on the Male Hero module reading list are:
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
A Hero of Our Time by Lermontov
Don Quixote by Cervantes

Asterix & Cleopatra
Maus
(both comics)

& the film: Ma Vie En Rose

I had originally planned to do English Lit, but compared to Comparative Literature, it seemed so stuffy and boring and the modules didn't sound interesting at all.

Anyone want to share their reading lists or module descriptions? (Note: this reading list wasn't sent out to me, I don't get it officially until like September, I just found it after digging around on the Comp. Lit department website.) It's from the 2005/2006 session - I hope it doesn't change because i've already bought copies of Oedipus & A Hero of Our Time to familiarise myself with them!)
Reply 1
what is it?
Comparitive literary studies is what people do here if they didn't get their B in English at A level. It's a lot more fun than English Lit cos you get to read a wider variety of modern novels and compare them. Eng Lit is more history based. Bleh. Lucky people getting to do Kundera and Camus.
I'm thinking of applying for Comp. Lit at KCL....but the required grade B at a modern/ancient language AS means I've gotta take up German next year :frown:...
Reply 4
I'm completing a MA in CompLit from KCL in a month - I've finished the courses & essays and am now writing my dissertation.

I absolutely loved the programme: the academic staff is great, the courses were very interesting and challenging, and I had the opportunity to specialise in a lot of different areas, read texts from many different traditions (and languages), and research both on subjects on which I already had some preparation from my BA, and others which I had never approached before.

At King's, for the MA, we had to take two core courses, and then we could choose among a range of optional courses from the Department - the CompLit options were all great, but another very good thing about the programme is that you're also allowed to choose a couple of options from other Humanities Department, like French, English, American Studies, Music, Classics, or Film Studies. So basically, the Department offers its own options (which are excellent, and allow you to work closely with their staff), but you can also pick other options you like from the whole School of Humanities.

Personally, I'm really enthusiastic about CompLit at KCL. I would recommend it to everyone who loves literature, and doesn't want to be limited to just one country-specific tradition.
Would I be right in thinking that Comparative Literature is more focussed on literary theory than most standard English courses? It looks interesting, but not many universities seem to offer it at undergraduate level.
Reply 6
Yes, Comp Lit is more theory-based and more interesting than English Lit. In fact, most of the noted theorists are comparatists.
Reply 7
LGoddard
Would I be right in thinking that Comparative Literature is more focussed on literary theory than most standard English courses? It looks interesting, but not many universities seem to offer it at undergraduate level.



it's still a relatively recent field, and it's especially recent for unis to offer this programme in the UK.

KCL does offer an undergrad level course on CompLit, plus two joint BAs (one with Film Studies and one with Classics):

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/humanities/complit/ug/