skip to content

Bulletin Archive

This archived information is dated to the 2008-09 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature

Up one level:

Undergraduate Programs in Comparative Literature

REQUIREMENTS

All majors in Comparative Literature (including honors) are required to complete the following courses:

  1. COMPLIT 101, What is Literature? (5 units) This gateway to the major is normally taken by the end of sophomore year. It provides an introduction to literature and its distinctions from other modes of linguistic expression, and a fundamental set of interpretive skills. This course fulfills the Writing in the Major requirement for 2008-09.
  2. The genre core: COMPLIT 121, Poems, Poetry, Worlds: An Introductory Course; COMPLIT 122, Literature as Performance; COMPLIT 123, The Novel, the World (5 units each). Students should complete these courses as soon as possible. Each course draws on examples from multiple traditions to ask questions about the logic of the individual genres.
  3. COMPLIT 199 (5 units). This senior seminar is designed as a culmination to the course of study while providing reflection on the nature of the discipline. Topics vary.
  4. Electives: Majors must complete at least 40 units of electives. Three of these electives must be Comparative Literature courses. The remaining courses may be drawn from Comparative Literature offerings, from other literature departments, or from other fields of interdisciplinary relevance to the student's interest. Up to 10 units of IHUM or SLE courses may be counted towards the elective requirement. Electives are subject to adviser consultation and approval.

    Examples of possible Comparative Literature electives include:

    COMPLIT 61Q. Culture and Conflict in Contemporary Europe

    COMPLIT 125A. The Gothic Novel

    COMPLIT 127A. Short Stories from the Arab World

    COMPLIT 151. Theories of Poetic Life

    COMPLIT 211. Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre: French Existentialism in the Post-World War II Period

    COMPLIT 223. Courtly Love in Classical Persian Poetry

    COMPLIT 242A. China and the World: Aesthetics, Ethics and Literature

    COMPLIT 246A. Literature and Film of Modern Iran

    COMPLIT 248A. CSI Vienna: American Culture in Austria since 1980

  5. Total unit load: Students must complete course work for a total of at least 65 units.

PHILOSOPHICAL AND LITERARY THOUGHT

Undergraduates may major in Comparative Literature with a special track in interdisciplinary studies at the intersection of literature and philosophy. Students in this option take courses alongside students from other departments that also have specialized options associated with the program for the study of Philosophical and Literary Thought. Each student in this option is assigned an adviser in Comparative Literature, and student schedules and course of study must be approved in writing by the adviser, the Director of Undergraduate Studies of Comparative Literature, and the Director of Undergraduate Studies of the program. See http://philit.stanford.edu.

A total of 65 units must be completed for this option, including the following requirements:

  1. Five courses using materials in the original language and making up an intellectually coherent program in the literature of a language other than the student's native tongue. Bilingual students may satisfy this requirement in either of their original languages or in a third language. The coherence of this program must be approved in writing by the Director of Undergraduate Studies of Comparative Literature.
  2. Philosophy and Literature Gateway Course (4 units): COMPLIT 181 (same as PHIL 81, CLASSGEN 81, ENGLISH 81, FRENGEN 181 and ITALGEN 181). This course should be taken as early as possible in the student's career, normally in the sophomore year.
  3. Philosophy Writing in the Major (5 units): PHIL 80. Prerequisite: introductory philosophy class.
  4. Aesthetics, Ethics, Political Philosophy (ca. 4 units): one course from the PHIL 170 series.
  5. Language, Mind, Metaphysics, and Epistemology (ca. 4 units): one course from the PHIL 180 series.
  6. History of Philosophy (ca. 8 units): two courses in the history of philosophy, numbered above PHIL 100.
  7. Related Courses (ca. 8 units): two upper division courses relevant to the study of philosophy and literature as identified by the committee in charge of the program. A list of approved courses is available from the undergraduate adviser of the program in philosophical and literary thought.
  8. One course, typically in translation, in a literature distant from that of the student's concentration and offering an outside perspective on that literary tradition.
  9. Capstone Seminar (ca. 4 units): in addition to COMPLIT 199, students take a capstone seminar of relevance to philosophy and literature approved by the undergraduate adviser of the program in philosophical and literary thought. The student's choice of a capstone seminar must be approved in writing by the Director of Undergraduate Studies of Comparative Literature and by the Director of Undergraduate Studies of the program. For a list of current capstone courses, see http://philit.stanford.edu/programs/capstone.html.
  10. Seminar Paper Requirement: students must write at least one seminar paper that is interdisciplinary in nature. This paper brings together material from courses taken in philosophy and literature, and may be an honors paper (see below), an individual research paper (developed through independent work with a faculty member), or a paper integrating materials developed for two separate courses (by arrangement with the two instructors). Though it may draw on previous course work, the paper must be an original composition, 18-20 pages in length. It must be submitted to the Director of Undergraduate Studies and receive approval no later than the end of Winter Quarter in the fourth year of study.

At least two of the courses counted toward requirements 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 must be taught by Comparative Literature faculty. Transfer units may not normally be used to satisfy requirements 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9. Units devoted to acquiring language proficiency are not counted toward the 65-unit requirement.

DIGITAL HUMANITIES MODULE

The Comparative Literature department offers a digital humanities module that can be combined with any of the department's major programs. Students who are interested in digital humanities should contact the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students planning to combine the Comparative Literature major and the digital humanities module must fulfill the following requirements in addition to the general major requirements:

  1. CS 105 or equivalent
  2. Participate in the Humanities Lab gateway core seminar, HUMNTIES 198J/ENGLISH 153H, Digital Humanities: Literature and Technology (5 units)
  3. Complete the HUMNTIES 201, Digital Humanities Practicum (2-5 units), in the junior year
  4. Complete one digital project, in lieu of the course's main writing requirement, in a course offered in the department under the supervision of the course instructor and humanities lab adviser. This should usually be done in an upper-division course.

Students are encouraged to enroll in DLCL 99, Multimedia Course Lab, when working on the digital course project.

HONORS PROGRAM

The honors option offers motivated Comparative Literature majors the opportunity to write a senior honors paper. During Spring Quarter of the junior year, a student interested in the honors program should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies and submit a thesis proposal (2-5 pages), an outline of planned course work for the senior year, and proof of a 3.5 GPA or higher within the student's Comparative Literature course work to date. During this quarter, the student may enroll for 2 units of credit for independent research in COMPLIT 189B to prepare this statement and undertake initial planning for the honors paper. The proposal is reviewed by the honors committee, including the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the chair of the department.

The Director of Undergraduate Studies designates a faculty tutor appropriate to the topic and a second reader for approved honors papers.

Students in the honors program enroll in DLCL 189 (5 units) in Autumn Quarter of the senior year to refine the project description and begin research in preparation for composing the honors paper. During Winter Quarter of the senior year, the student enrolls in COMPLIT 189A (5 units), independent study with the faculty tutor, to draft the honors paper.

At the end of the quarter, the student submits a completed draft to the tutor. If approved, two copies are forwarded to the honors committee, which ultimately awards honors. If revisions are advised, the student has until the fifth week of Spring Quarter to submit the final paper. Students who did not enroll in a 189B course in the junior year may enroll in COMPLIT 189B in Spring Quarter of the senior year while revising the thesis, if approved by the thesis adviser. 10-12 units of course work associated with the honors paper (DLCL 189 and COMPLIT 189A and 189B) may be counted toward the 65 units required for the major.

Honors papers vary considerably in length as a function of their topic, historical scope, and methodology. They may make use of previous work developed in seminars and courses, but display an enhanced comparative or theoretical scope. Quality rather than quantity is the key criterion. Typically, however, honors papers are 40-70 pages.

Honors Awards—The two readers of any honors thesis in Comparative Literature may elect to nominate the thesis in question for University-wide awards. In addition, the department honors committee evaluates on a competitive basis the honors theses completed in a given year and nominates one for University-wide awards competitions.

© Stanford University - Office of the Registrar. Archive of the Stanford Bulletin 2008-09. Terms of Use | Copyright Complaints