More Detailed Departmental Information
Acting Director of the Program: Janet Smarr
Correspondence and Information: Director of Graduate Studies, Program in Comparative Literature, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2070 Foreign Language Building , 707 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801; (217) 333-4987
More Detailed Departmental Information
GRADUATE FACULTY
Professors: N. Blake, D. Figueira, H. Knust, M. Palencia-Roth, J. Smarr,
G. Tikku
Assistant Professor: D. Pan
Emeritus Professors: A. O. Aldridge, F. Jost
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
The program in comparative literature offers graduate work leading to the
degrees of master of arts and doctor of philosophy and is designed to provide a
systematic study of subjects and problems common to several literatures. Its
purpose is to enable students who have varied linguistic competence and
preparation to explore the theory of literature and criticism; the
interrelations of several literatures; the main currents, periods, and
movements in literary history; the development of literary themes and types;
and the relations between literature and the other arts.
ADMISSION
In addition to meeting the Graduate College admission requirements, a student
entering the program should have an undergraduate major in English, the
classics, or a foreign language. Majors in history and philosophy may be
accepted with the special consent of the director of the program. For
applicants to the Ph.D. curriculum, the A.M. will function as the qualifying
test. Students entering with a recognized A.M. degree from another university
or from another department of this University will take the comparative
literature component and a literary component of this program's regular master
of arts examination at the end of the first year as a qualifying test.
MASTER OF ARTS
The candidate must demonstrate a competency in at least two foreign languages
as well as in English. Latin is necessary for students planning to specialize
in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, or Neoclassicism. Competence in the
languages offered is measured either by the successful completion of one
advanced course in the literature of each of the languages chosen or by passing
an examination administered by the program in comparative literature with the
assistance of an expert in the language concerned. This choice is intended to
provide for languages that may not be taught in regular departments.
The candidate must complete 8 units of credit, including two courses in the theory of literature (Comparative Literature 401 and 402) and two seminars in comparative literature selected from Comparative Literature 451, 461, 471, and 481; the other 4 units should be taken in two or three national literatures in a distribution approved by the adviser; at least 5 of 8 units must be in courses at the 400 level. The candidate must pass a written examination based on a reading list, which is designed to test knowledge of literary history as well as ability to interpret a literary or critical text.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
A candidate for the doctor of philosophy degree must fulfill the general
requirements of the Graduate College in addition to those specified above for
the master's degree. Competence must be demonstrated in at least three foreign
languages as well as in English. These three languages will coincide with those
vital to the student's thesis and area of specialization. At least 5 units will
consist of comparative literature seminars. Three additional units of work at
the 400 level should be taken in courses regularly offered by the literature
departments; among these, courses crosslisted with the program in comparative
literature are especially recommended. The candidate is responsible for a
knowledge of the history of the literature in one modern language. The student
also selects a period of major interest and is responsible for a knowledge of
two other literatures in this period, which are considered as minors. The
periods may be the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Neoclassicism, and the
Enlightenment, or the modern (nineteenth and twentieth centuries). Some
chronological variations in coordinating the minors will be allowed for
students studying non-Western literatures. A preliminary examination, a
four-part written examination based on the individual program, and an oral
examination with emphasis on the thesis project must be passed. The candidate
must present an acceptable thesis embracing several national literatures and
pass a final oral examination on the thesis.
FINANCIAL AID
A limited number of University fellowships, tuition and service fee waivers,
and teaching assistantships, in cooperation with other departments, is
available.
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