Why Study Comparative Literature?
Explore how stories reflect the ideas, values, and experiences of people around the world. The Comparative Literature minor complements your major by helping you think critically across cultures, disciplines, and historical periods.
Create Your Own Course of Study
Design a minor that reflects your interests by choosing courses from multiple departments while developing a cohesive approach to literary and cultural analysis.
Faculty Across Fields
Because the program spans multiple disciplines, you’ll learn from faculty whose expertise ranges from literature and languages to religion, theatre, communication, political science, and beyond.
Global and Cross-Cultural Perspective
Compare texts from different cultures and historical moments to discover how literature reflects shared human experiences and diverse perspectives.
It’s a good fit for you if you:
- Want to study literature across cultures rather than within a single tradition.
- Are interested in how texts connect to language, religion, politics, theatre, communication, or environmental questions.
- Want a minor that adds global perspective to your major.
- Value flexibility and the chance to shape an individual program of study.
The minor works well with majors in:
English, modern languages, religion, theatre, human communication, political science, and other humanities or social science fields that benefit from cross-cultural reading and interpretation. Because the minor is interdisciplinary by design, it can also complement majors outside these areas for students interested in global literary study.
What You'll Study
Courses in Comparative Literature explore novels, poetry, drama, essays, and film while learning to compare ideas across cultures, genres, historical periods, and academic disciplines.
In Demand-Skills:
- Analyze literary texts across cultures, historical periods, and traditions
- Interpret ideas through interdisciplinary and cross-cultural frameworks
- Communicate clearly about complex texts, contexts, and meanings
Comprehensive Curriculum
Students complete 24 credit hours that draw from courses across multiple departments, creating an individual program of study focused on literature across cultures, languages, and historical contexts.
View minor requirements in the course catalog
Detailed course requirements, sequencing, and policies are outlined in the official Courses of Study Bulletin.
Meet Your Faculty Mentors
Learn from scholars across multiple disciplines whose expertise spans literature, languages, religion, and classical studies, offering diverse perspectives on texts, cultures, and ideas from around the world.
Recent Graduate Careers
Comparative Literature graduates bring strong analytical, research, and communication skills to careers that value global awareness, adaptability, and critical thinking.
Business and Global Organizations
Students bring cross-cultural perspectives and strong communication skills to work that involves international contexts, diverse audiences, and complex cultural exchange.
Politics and Public Life
Students interested in politics and public discourse use the minor to better understand how language, narrative, and culture shape public life across regions and traditions.
Education and Teaching
Graduates apply literary analysis, global perspective, and interpretive skill in educational settings and in further academic study.
Science and Interdisciplinary Fields
For students in the sciences and other disciplines, Comparative Literature adds cultural literacy, interpretive range, and the ability to think across fields and perspectives.
Get Your Questions Answered
Students interested in the Comparative Literature minor should:
Explore how the minor complements your major, discover interdisciplinary course options from across the humanities, review the course catalog, and connect with the program director to learn how Comparative Literature can broaden your academic experience and global perspective.