The Literature Major

Literature courses
Comparative Literature department home page

Director of undergraduate studies: Alexander Beecroft, Room 102, 451 College St., 432-4750, maryjane.stevens@yale.edu

FACULTY ASSOCIATED WITH THE LITERATURE MAJOR

Professors

Dudley Andrew (Comparative Literature, Film Studies), Harold Bloom (Humanities), Peter Brooks (Comparative Literature, French), Kang-i Sun Chang (East Asian Languages & Literatures), Katerina Clark (Comparative Literature, Slavic Languages & Literatures), Paul Fry (English), Roberto González Echevarría (Spanish & Portuguese, Comparative Literature), Benjamin Harshav (Comparative Literature), Carol Jacobs (German, Comparative Literature), Pericles Lewis (Comparative Literature, English), Rainer Nägele (German, Comparative Literature), David Quint (English, Comparative Literature), Haun Saussy (Chair) (Comparative Literature), Katie Trumpener (Comparative Literature, English)

Associate Professors

Ala Alryyes (Comparative Literature, English), Catherine Labio (Comparative Literature, French)

Assistant Professors

Alexander Beecroft (Comparative Literature, Humanities), Moira Fradinger (Comparative Literature), Barry McCrea (Comparative Literature)

Senior Lecturer

Richard Maxwell (Comparative Literature, English)

Lecturers

Edward Barnaby, Eric Bulson (Visiting), Na'ama Rokem, Pamela Schirmeister, Howard Stern

The Literature Major allows students to address fundamental questions about the nature, function, and value of literature in a broadly comparative context. Majors read and write about a wide variety of literary works across periods, genres, and national traditions. They investigate traditional and contemporary approaches to literary study, ancient and modern literary theory, and the relationship of literature to film and to other branches of the arts and sciences.

The Literature Major offers students the freedom to construct a program of study that reflects their intellectual goals. All students planning to major in Literature should register with the director of undergraduate studies, who will work with them to develop a coherent, well-focused sequence of courses suited to their individual interests.

The major offers a number of its own courses, which constitute the core of the program. Other courses are normally chosen from different language and literature programs, many of which offer courses on literature and film in translation. Among these programs are African American Studies, Classics, East Asian Languages and Literatures, English, Film Studies, French, German, Italian, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Portuguese, Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Spanish. Courses in film studies count toward the major in the same way as courses in literature.

The experience of reading a foreign literature in the original language enables us to understand the nature of both language and literature more fully. Prospective Literature majors are strongly encouraged to begin the study of a foreign language as early as possible in their academic careers and to continue such study throughout their time at Yale. Students interested in graduate study in literature should be aware that many programs require reading knowledge of two or three foreign languages.

The major for the Class of 2008. Students in the Class of 2008 may fulfill the requirements of the Literature Major as described below for the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes. Alternatively, they may fulfill the requirements of the major that were in place when they entered the major, as described in previous editions of this bulletin.

Prerequisites. Completion of the Yale College foreign language distributional requirement is a prerequisite for entry into the major. Two specific courses are also prerequisites, LITR 120a, Introduction to Narrative, and 122b, World Poetry and Performance. These courses may be taken in either order, but at least one of them must be completed in either the freshman or the sophomore year.

The major for the Class of 2009 and subsequent classes. The Literature Major requires fourteen term courses, including two prerequisites, one required course, two core seminars, and the senior requirement. Students must take LITR 300b, Introduction to the Theory of Literature, in the sophomore or junior year. Students take an additional three courses in a foreign literature, in which they read the texts in the original language. Students may also elect to include in their major two courses in a related discipline that has direct bearing on their study of literature, such as English, history of art, philosophy, anthropology, music, or theater studies. One of these elective courses may be in creative writing. A third elective from a related discipline may be applied to the major with permission of the director of undergraduate studies.

Core seminars. In core seminars, LITR 400–480, students focus intensively on particular texts, films, literary and cultural issues, and theoretical problems. Students are required to take at least two core seminars, preferably one in the junior and one in the senior year. The seminars provide training in literary interpretation and theory, preparing students for the senior essay. Students in the intensive major are encouraged to take LITR 480a, Critical Practices: Advanced Topics in Comparative Literature, as one of their two seminars.

Pre-1800 course requirement. The Literature Major requires at least one course in literature before 1800. Because both genres and individual works of literature refer to, emulate, challenge, and even rewrite older works and generic conventions, students benefit from acquiring a degree of historical perspective. All courses listed under "The Ancient World" and "Medieval and Early Modern Literature to 1800" in the printed YCPS fulfill the pre-1800 requirement. Courses from other departments may also fulfill the requirement.

Poetry or drama requirement. In addition to LITR 122b and the pre-1800 course, all students must take one course in poetry or drama. The course may be one offered in a program other than Literature.

All majors are required to take at least three additional term courses, beyond the foreign language distributional requirement, in an ancient or modern foreign literature, in which the literature is read in the original language. One or more courses can be taken at a basic literature level (normally equivalent to the third year of language study); however, at least one course must be taken at an advanced level (normally equivalent to the fourth year of language study or higher). Students are encouraged to continue developing their foreign language skills by taking advanced language courses and may, with permission of the director of undergraduate studies, substitute one such course for one of the three required foreign literature courses.

A literature course in translation is sometimes suitable as a foreign literature course. In such cases, Literature majors are expected to request additional assignments from their instructors that enable them to work with texts in the original language. They should fill out a form, signed by the instructor, attesting to their intent to do so. This form is available in the department office in room 102, 451 College St.; students should submit it to the director of undergraduate studies along with their course schedule.

Nonnative speakers of English who are granted permission by Yale College to complete the foreign language distributional requirement by taking ENGL 114a or b, 120a or b, or 450b may take three additional English literature courses to fulfill the foreign literature requirement of the Literature Major, or they may fulfill the major requirements in a third language.

The senior essay. In the senior essay, required of all majors, students develop a research topic of their choice and work closely with a faculty adviser. Normally, the essay makes use of texts in the language of their original composition. Any exceptions must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies. Deadlines for the prospectus, the rough draft, and the completed essay are listed in the course descriptions of the senior essay course (LITR 491a or b and 492a or b, 493a or b).

The senior essay may be written over one term (LITR 491a or b) or over two terms (LITR 492a or b, 493a or b). Alternatively, students may fulfill the senior essay requirement within the context of a core seminar (the senior seminar essay). Because no more than five students per seminar may elect this option, students should petition the instructor promptly at the beginning of the term. It is understood that students choosing the senior seminar essay will work closely with the instructor throughout the term and produce a substantial paper, approximately thirty pages.

Students with an especially well-developed project may petition to write a yearlong senior essay. Interested juniors must apply to the curriculum committee by the last day of classes in the spring term. Students may count the second term of the essay as one elective course toward the total number of courses required for the major. Students expecting to graduate in May enroll in LITR 492a during the fall term and complete their essays in 493b in the spring term. December graduates enroll in 492b in the spring term and complete their essays in 493a during the following fall term. Students planning to begin their essay in the spring term should notify the director of undergraduate studies by the last day of classes in the fall term.

Intensive major. Students in the intensive major complete three courses in a second literature, in which literature is read in the original language, in place of three electives. If the additional literature is in English, intensive majors must demonstrate proficiency at the intermediate (L4) level in a second foreign language. A recommended course for students in the intensive major is LITR 480a, Critical Practices: Advanced Topics in Comparative Literature.

Year or term abroad. The Literature Major encourages students to consider spending a summer, a term, or a year abroad. Courses taken on international programs may, with permission of the director of undergraduate studies, be applied to the Literature Major's foreign literature requirement.

The following table lists languages in which advanced literature instruction is available at Yale, specifying courses that fulfill the basic and advanced literature requirements for the major. Courses with numbers higher than those listed also normally fulfill the requirement, providing that they focus on literature (rather than language) and that the literature is read in the original language.

Language	Basic Literature Course	Advanced Literature Course

Arabic	ARBC 104	ARBC 105a or b or 106b

Chinese	CHNS 150	CHNS 160

French	FREN 160a or b	Courses in French numbered 200 or higher

German	Courses in German numbered 160 or higher	Courses in German numbered 200 or higher

Ancient Greek	GREK 300a or 301b	Ancient Greek courses numbered 400 or higher

Biblical Hebrew	HEBR 112a	HEBR 471a or b

Modern Hebrew	HEBR 103a or 104b	HEBR 103a or 104b

Italian	Courses in Italian numbered 200 or higher	Courses in Italian numbered 200 or higher

Japanese	JAPN 150	JAPN 160a or 161b

Korean	KREN 150	KREN 470a or 471b

Latin	LATN 300a or 301b	Latin courses numbered 400 or higher

Persian	PERS 104a	PERS 104a

Portuguese	By arrangement with instructor	By arrangement with instructor

Russian	RUSS 130	Courses in Russian numbered 160 or higher

Spanish	SPAN 261a, 262a, 266a, or 267b	Courses in Spanish numbered 300 or higher

Other ancient and modern languages, including those from Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East, may be suitable for the Literature Major if a qualified faculty adviser is available to supervise the major.

REQUIREMENTS OF THE MAJOR

Prerequisites: LITR 120a; LITR 122b; completion of Yale College foreign lang distributional req

Number of courses: 12 term courses beyond prereqs (incl senior essay)

Required course: LITR 300b

Distribution of courses: 3 courses in 1 foreign lit, as specified; 1 course in lit before 1800; 1 course in poetry or drama; 2 core sems

Substitution permitted: For 2 electives, 2 courses in another discipline, incl 1 in creative writing; a third course in another discipline for a lit elective, with DUS permission; 1 advanced lang course for 1 of 3 req foreign lit courses, with DUS permission

Senior requirement: One-term senior essay (LITR 491a or b); or two-term senior essay (LITR 492a and 493b, or 492b and 493a); or 1 core sem (LITR 400–480) with senior sem essay

Intensive major: 3 addtl lit courses in a second lang in place of 3 electives; demonstrated command of a second foreign lang