Director of Undergraduate Studies:
Professor Cristina Vatulescu

Comparative literature is an innovative major that encourages students to follow their passion for literature by venturing beyond national and disciplinary boundaries. In the spirit of our times, students delve into literature from all over the world and explore its intersections with other media and disciplines, such as cinema studies, art history, philosophy, politics, anthropology, history, linguistics. Comparative literature departmental course offerings include classes in world literature and interdisciplinary studies where students work intensively with a distinguished faculty of scholars in African, Caribbean, Chinese, European and Anglo-American, Latin American, Middle Eastern and Islamic, and Russian and Eastern European literary and cultural studies. At the same time, the major encourages students to take advantage of the rich offerings of courses in other NYU departments or study abroad sites.

The guidelines of our program allow students great flexibility in shaping a course of study suited to their own intellectual goals. While all students must take four classes originating in the major, our commitment to a global and interdisciplinary outlook means that the remaining six courses required for the major can be taken in other departments or, taking advantage of NYU study abroad opportunities, even on other continents! All students planning to major in Comparative Literature register with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, who works closely with them to develop a coherent sequence of courses suited to their individual interests. Periodical advising sessions with the Director of Undergraduate Studies and a remarkable student-faculty ratio help our students make the most of the wide range of possibilities that define the major.

A comparative literature major could lead to the advanced study of literature at the graduate level but could just as readily be a strong basis for advanced degrees and/or careers in journalism, publishing, international relations, international law, cultural studies, medicine, philosophy, education, public policy, film and entertainment, and the information industries of computer software and the World Wide Web.