Academic Departments & Programs
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Comparative Literature Department
Comparative Literature (commonly abbreviated as "Comp. Lit.") offers students the opportunity to pursue their love of literature beyond national and disciplinary boundaries. It situates the study of literature in a 21st century global context that takes account of cultural and linguistic diversity as well as changing technologies and new media. Majors study literary texts in at least one language other than English, delving into works from the ancient as well as the modern world, and exploring cultural productions from non-Western traditions as well as the so-called "great books" of the West. Students study literature's intersections with other media and disciplines such as philosophy, religion, history, law, film studies, and psychoanalysis, and take courses in areas as varied as Exemplary Novels, French poetry, Russian Film, Literature, Justice, Postcolonial Popular Culture, Disaster Literature or Latin American Magical Realism. Comp. Lit. students also explore important theoretical questions: How do we define the human? How does language function in society? What is the relationship between ethics and religion? How do new technologies require us to rethink social, political, and ethical issues? How do we understand the relationship between history (events that happened) and memory (how we remember those events)?
- Academic Department Website
- http://comparativelit.emory.edu
Concentrations
Faculty
- Chair
- Geoffrey Bennington
- Director of Undergraduate Studies
- Angelika Bammer
Courses
Comparative Literature 100-Level Courses
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Instruction in rhetorical composition, critical reading, reflection, and writing as recursive process. Across themed sections, students engage with diverse genres. Courses share some common assignments including research writing and final student-curated portfolio with reflection project.
- Credit Hours
- 4
- GERs
- FWRT
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Freshman-only seminar designed to engage students in various aspects of inquiry and research with the close guidance of a faculty member.
- Credit Hours
- 3
- GERs
- FSEM
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
Comparative Literature 200-Level Courses
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This course draws on classical, modern, and contemporary texts to introduce skills required for reading comparatively across national traditions and academic disciplines with an emphasis on close reading, critical interpretation, and the multiplicity of linguistic traditions around the world. *Note: This course is non-repeatable.
- Credit Hours
- 3
- GERs
- HAP
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
This course draws on classical, modern, and contemporary texts to introduce skills required for reading comparatively across national traditions and academic disciplines with an emphasis on close reading, critical interpretation, and the multiplicity of linguistic traditions around the world. *Note: This course is non-repeatable.
- Credit Hours
- 4
- GERs
- HAPW
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
This course introduces students to the way translation between different literatures, literary genres, and new media impacts our comparative reading of texts. *Note: This course is non-repeatable.
- Credit Hours
- 3
- GERs
- HAP
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
This course introduces students to the way translation between different literatures, literary genres, and new media impacts our comparative reading of texts. *Note: This course is non-repeatable.
- Credit Hours
- 4
- GERs
- HAPW
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
Comparative Literature 300-Level Courses
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An introduction to different methods of literary criticism and textual interpretation, applying a variety of theoretical approaches to selected literary texts. Readings include essays, fiction, poetry, and drama. *Note: This course is non-repeatable.
- Credit Hours
- 3
- GERs
- HAP
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
An introduction to different methods of literary criticism and textual interpretation, applying a variety of theoretical approaches to selected literary texts. Readings include essays, fiction, poetry, and drama. *Note: This course is non-repeatable.
- Credit Hours
- 4
- GERs
- HAPW
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Learning to read literature from a rheoretical viewpoint, its formal properties, distinctive features, origins, purposes, and capacities for representing the world; representative critics and schools from contemporary and earlier periods. *Note: This course is non-repeatable.
- Credit Hours
- 3
- GERs
- HAP
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Learning to read literature from a rheoretical viewpoint, its formal properties, distinctive features, origins, purposes, and capacities for representing the world; representative critics and schools from contemporary and earlier periods. *Note: This course is non-repeatable.
- Credit Hours
- 4
- GERs
- HAPW
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
A study of literary texts and their complex interplay with other disciplines (e.g., literature and psychoanalysis, literature and philosophy, literature and law, and literature and religion.)
- Credit Hours
- 3
- GERs
- HAP
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
A study of literary texts and their complex interplay with other disciplines (e.g., literature and psychoanalysis, literature and philosophy, literature and law, and literature and religion.)
- Credit Hours
- 4
- GERs
- HAPW
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Modern literatures form around the world taught in a comparative or global framework. Course may be repeated when topic changes.
- Credit Hours
- 1 - 3
- GERs
- HAP
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Modern literatures form around the world taught in a comparative or global framework. Course may be repeated when topic changes.
- Credit Hours
- 1 - 4
- GERs
- HAPW
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Lively topical or theoretical approaches to a given set of literary texts or problems. May be repeated for credit when subject varies..
- Credit Hours
- 1 - 4
- GERs
- HAP / HSC
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Lively topical or theoretical approaches to a given set of literary texts or problems. May be repeated for credit when subject varies. Fulfills the post-freshman writing requirement.
- Credit Hours
- 1 - 5
- GERs
- HAPW / HSCW
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
Comparative Literature 400-Level Courses
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This course is designed to give advanced students the opportunity to investigate intensively an area of special interest. A reading knowledge of one foreign language is prerequisite. Topics may vary, but the goal of the course remains unchanged: the courses focuses on contemporary literary theory.
- Credit Hours
- 1 - 4
- GERs
- HAP / HSC
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
This course is designed to give advanced students the opportunity to investigate intensively an area of special interest. A reading knowledge of one foreign language is prerequisite. Topics may vary, but the goal of the course remains unchanged: the courses focuses on contemporary literary theory.
- Credit Hours
- 1 - 5
- GERs
- HAPW / HSCW
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Intensive reading of literary and theoretical texts that raise critical issues in the field of Comparative Literature and related disciplines. Note: This course is non-repeatable.
- Credit Hours
- 3
- GERs
- HAP
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Intensive reading of literary and theoretical texts that raise critical issues in the field of Comparative Literature and related disciplines. Note: This course is non-repeatable.
- Credit Hours
- 4
- GERs
- HAPW
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Prerequisite: approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Open to candidates for honors in their senior year.
- Credit Hours
- 3
- GERs
- None
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Prerequisite: approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Open to candidates for honors in their senior year.
- Credit Hours
- 1 - 8
- GERs
- WRT
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
-
Directed studies of special topics in literature. Open to students with consent of instructor and approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
- Credit Hours
- 1 - 4
- GERs
- None
- Requisites
- None
- Cross-Listed
- None
Honors Program
To receive honors in comparative literature, eligible students select a CPLT Core Faculty adviser, based on the student's interest and the director's expertise. Honors candidates are expected to enroll in an appropriate course of directed study (Comparative Literature 495R, offered during both semesters of the senior year) for methodological guidance while writing the thesis. In the fall semester, the student must take Comparative Literature 490R, designed as a graduate-level course for seniors in the Department of Comparative Literature, or (with the thesis director's and the instructor's approval) a graduate course relevant to the student's thesis. Honors students must complete an honors thesis and defend the thesis in an oral examination. In addition to the adviser, the committee members will include one other member from the comparative literature department and one other examiner who is not a member of the program.
See "Honors Program" under the curriculum section of the catalog and consult the department for further details.
Study Abroad
Majors in comparative literature are encouraged to pursue a course of study in any of the Emory Study Abroad Programs (summer, semester, or yearlong). The department gives credit toward the major for two courses under the foreign language requirement and three courses in literature in the original language.