Comparative Literature

To pursue a major or minor in Comparative Literature, carry out the following steps:

1) Discuss your plans with program director Patrick.OConnor.He will explore them with you, answer your questions, sign yourdeclaration-of-major card, and help you find a major advisor ifnecessary.

2) Select a major advisor. Many members of language andliterature departments are willing to serve as Comparative Literatureadvisors, including members of the Program Committee. You may choosesomeone with whom you have studied or someone whose field of expertisematches your interests.

3) Discuss a plan for your major with your advisor. This planning sheet and looking over the Course Catalog will help. Note that your plan is not a permanent commitment: not allcourses on comparative topics are always taught regularly, and newcourses will emerge that suit your interests. Be sure to takeComparative Literature 200 as early as possible and make arrangementsfor developing your skills in at least one foreign language andliterature.

4) As you progress through the major, consultfrequently with your advisor, especially if your goals and interestschange. Consider studying abroad for a summer, semester, or a year.

5) Plan carefully for your reading course in yoursenior year. You will need to work with two faculty sponsors indifferent departments, drawing on the skills that you have developed asa comparatist. If you wish to do an Honors project during your senioryear, then be sure to discuss it with your advisor and the Program Director early in the second semester of your junior year.

Comparative Literature has always been a large anddisputed field, and recent developments -- the widening of the canon,the emergence of cultural studies and many theoretical approaches --have expanded its range even further. The advantage of comparativeliterature is that you can shape your major from a wide range ofpossible material.

Your area of concentration can be a historical period,a theoretical approach, a theme, a set of media, a case of influence ortransmission, a mode (lyric, drama, fiction), a movement, or many otherthings. Some examples: translation, the Renaissance, feminism,avant-garde theater, postmodernism, 20th-century exile writers,Surrealism in literature and art, literature and music, Romanticism,philosophy and literature, etc. To build your major, choose coursesthat contribute to your area. Thus a medieval emphasis might include Les Voix du Monde Médiéval, Chaucer, Music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a senior reading course drawing on medieval material.

As an Oberlin comparatist you will study a wide varietyof literary works, learn about challenging, contemporary issues, andjoin a band of enthusiastic faculty and students.