Overview of Graduate Courses in Comparative Literature
Information regarding current and past offerings (incluidng topics and course descriptions), enrollment requirements, and repeatability may be found in the LSA Graduate Course Catalog.
COMPLIT 580. Translation Workshop (3 credits)
This course generates translated literary work in workshop format. Each week students will bring in their own translations, including a short preface in conversation with an assigned reading. All students are expected to comment on each other's work, and to revise one of their own translations for their final portfolio. This course may be counted as the required course for the Graduate Certificate in Critical Translation Studies.
COMPLIT 600. Topics in Theory (3 credits)
An introduction to Comparative Literature offered in the first semester of the first year. This course introduces students to a range of theoretical approaches to Comparative Literature, and may also include visits from faculty members in the department.
COMPLIT 601. Preparation for the Preliminary Examination in Comparative Literature I (2 credits)
The first part of a proseminar for second-year doctoral students in Comparative Literature designed to provide students guidance in identifying academic and professional goals for the Third Term Review, and in preparing for the Preliminary Examination. The proseminar also supports students as they begin teaching, and broaden their professional networks.
COMPLIT 602. Preparation for the Preliminary Examination in Comparative Literature II (2 credits)
The second part of a proseminar for second-year doctoral students in Comparative literature, this course is designed to support students as they continue preparing for the Preliminary Examination, including training in the responsible conduct of research and scholarship and developing complementary professional skills for diverse career trajectories.
COMPLIT 630. Special Topics (credits vary by offering)
This course provides the opportunity for offerings on special topics by Comparative Literature and affiliated faculty in a variety of course formats. Topics vary by section and term.
COMPLIT 680. Capstone in Critical Translation Studies (credits vary)
Independent study for completing the capstone project in Critical Translation Studies.
COMPLIT 698. Directed Reading in Comparative Literature (credits vary)
Designed for individual students who have an interest in a specific topic (usually that has stemmed from a previous course). An individual instructor must agree to direct such a reading, and the requirements are specified when approval is granted.
COMPLIT 720. Seminar: Studies in Form and Genre (3 credits)
This seminar examines literary forms and genres in historical and theoretical perspective, such as the social conditions in which particular forms emerge, the circulation of genres across languages and borders, and the capacity of forms for social critique.
COMPLIT 730. Seminar in Literary Movements and Periods (3 credits)
This seminar takes an intensive look at a movement (e.g. Romanticism, Négritude) or a period (e.g. Victorian era) with attention both to their political, cultural, and aesthetic particularities and through a comparative lens in relation to other periods and/or movements.
COMPLIT 740. Seminar in Major Authors (3 credits)
A semester-long single-author study meant to shed light on the influence of a creative writer or theorist on a cultural, political and social moment and context. The course includes secondary contextualizations of the author’s work, history and influence.
COMPLIT 750. Seminar: Topics in Comparative Literature (3 credits)
What is Comparative Literature? This course reviews the major debates in field formation ranging from the role of philology to area studies-informed approaches, critical translation and pedagogical approaches to the topic.
COMPLIT 760. Seminar in Literature and the Other Arts (3 credits)
This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary study of literature and the arts. It poses general questions about the concerns shared by different media (language, painting, music, etc.) as well as arguments between them. It introduces students to basic ideas about aesthetics broadly conceived and permits an exploration of art issues in an inclusive climate where language, music, and the representational arts may come together.
COMPLIT 770. Seminar: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Literature (3 credits)
This seminar explores the many disciplinary fields with which literary studies are in dialogue (such as philosophy, psychology, anthropology, education and ecology) as evidenced through shared investments in critical theory (psychoanalysis, environmental humanities), pedagogy, and methods of textual interpretation and analysis.
COMPLIT 780. Seminar in Translation (3 credits)
This advanced seminar is designed to develop critical and comparative perspectives on diverse histories, theories and practices of translation. This course may be counted as the required course for the Graduate Certificate in Critical Translation Studies.
COMPLIT 790. Seminar in Literary Theory (3 credits)
This seminar addresses a major topic in literary theory (such as modern political thought, assemblage theory, the anthropocene, biopolitics etc.) or approaches literary theory through a survey. The course encourages students to think about the relationship between literature and theory as part of their training. Topics vary by semester.
COMPLIT 990. Dissertation/Precandidate (credits vary)
Election for dissertation work by doctoral student not yet admitted as a Candidate.
COMPLIT 995. Dissertation/Candidate (8 credits)
Election for dissertation work by doctoral student as a doctoral Candidate.
