New York Univeristy College of Arts and Science
Faculty of Arts and Science Graduate School of Arts and Science
Department of Comparative LiteratureDepartment of Comparative LiteratureDepartment of Comparative LiteratureDepartment of Comparative LiteratureDepartment of Comparative Literature
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The Major
The Minor
Restrictions
Honors Graduation


Declaration of Major

To declare a major, a student must successfully complete one course originating in the Department of Comparative Literature. As with other CAS majors, such a declaration must be made by students who have earned 64 or more points. Because of the rigorous academic requirements of Comparative Literature, however, students with fewer than 64 points are strongly encouraged to declare the major as early in their academic career as possible.

Special Note: Students planning on Junior Year/Term Abroad, must consult and declare with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Comparative Literature before their departure.

Major

The major has two tracks, each consisting of 10 4-point courses organized as follows:

Track 1: Literature. This track includes the following courses:

  1. Four courses originating in the Department of Comparative Literature, including Introduction to Comp Lit and the junior theory seminar.
  2. Four courses in a national literature department at the 100 level or above conducted in the language of that literature (including the prerequisite course).
  3. Two courses in a related cultural field or discipline. Fields could include history, art history, religion, philosophy, classics, politics, cinema studies, and so on and could also be another foreign language or literary area. If the national literature department selected for specialization is English, these two courses must be in a foreign language. The choice of these courses will be made in consultation with the adviser to form a coherent intellectual field and a defined objective in the major.
Track 2: Literary and Cultural Studies. Track 2 includes the following requirements:
  1. Four courses originating in the Department of Comparative Literature, including Introduction to Comp Lit and the junior theory seminar.
  2. Four courses in a related cultural field or discipline. Fields could include history, art history, religion, philosophy, classics, politics, cinema studies, and so on. The choice of these courses will be made in consultation with the adviser to form a coherent intellectual field and a defined objective in the major.
  3. Two courses in a foreign literature department in the language of that literature, normally at the 100 level or above.


Minor

Four courses originating in the Department of Comparative Literature, including Introduction to Comp Lit, and a demonstrated reading knowledge of one of the foreign literatures studied in these courses.


Restrictions for the Major/Minor

Step 1 of either Track 1 or Track 2 requires "Four courses originating in the Department of Comparative Literature . . ." as stated above. This is the department's minimum requirement and should be satisfied with courses taught on the Washington Square campus by the Department of Comparative Literature full time faculty.


Honors Graduation

Effective September 2005, to be eligible for honors graduation a student must maintain at least a 3.65 average in both CAS and the 10 courses in the Comparative Literature major. The student choosing honors status is also required to write a senior thesis. This thesis is written in the context of the Senior Seminar in Comparative Literature (V29.0400) or, with special approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies, as an independent study under the supervision of a Comparative Literature faculty member.

All honors work is in addition to the 10 courses of the Comparative Literature major.


Double Major

Because of the heavy demands of the discipline of comparative literature, the department discourages double majors between Comparative Literature and other departments. The possibility of pursuing a double major should be discussed with the Director of Undergraduate Studies early in the junior year.

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