Comparative Literature
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Comparative Literature is the study of literary and cultural phenomena on a global scale. It compares artistic texts and productions between different disciplines such as literature, history and cultural studies. It studies both high and popular, western and non-western cultures. It compares pre- and post- contact cultural productions of colonized peoples and planetary consciousness. Our faculty specialize in Globalization, Translation, Gender Studies, Myth Criticism, Orientalism, Religion, Chicano Literature and Latin American Studies. At Texas Tech, graduate students of Comparative Literature explore recent literary approaches as well as traditional internal textual use of language, metaphor, symbol, theme and character. They learn the practice of close reading that can then be applied to other written significations such as maps, prescriptions, media and print culture. For example, Cultural Criticism, which illuminates cultural artifacts within literary texts, is one possibility. A recent English Department dissertation, now a book, exemplifies Cultural Criticism by exploring the food theme in American writing. Students may attend and give papers at the Interdisciplinary Comparative Literature Symposium, an annual event, that draws scholars from the U.S. and other countries. The 2010 Symposium focused on American Studies as Transnational Practice. Comparative Literature as a specialization is available to graduate students within the English Department. M.A. students are required to take a Methodology Course in Comparative Literature and after satisfying the M.A. English requirements, may choose from a variety of offerings. They and their doctoral fellows receive degrees in English with a specialization in Comparative Literature. PhD. Candidates follow the same overall requirements as English doctoral students in our other divisions, but they take eighteen hours of Comparative Literature courses taught by our faculty division: Professors Aycock, Batra, Crowley, Daghistany Ransdell, Purinton, Shu and Whitlark. Please see more about them on their Faculty web pages. Students may also take courses in foreign languages, in consultation with their committee, and must satisfy the foreign language requirements of our department. When they have completed their degree, they will be prepared to teach in more than one division at other colleges and universities. This has proven to be an advantage in today’s job market. The attitude of cooperative tolerance, inclusivity, receptivity to original scholarship in other disciplines, and enthusiasm for collegial efforts, makes Comparative Literature a good choice for students who value cutting edge scholarship and scholarly community.
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More links for Comparative Literature: Contact Information: For more information about the Comparative Literature emphasis, contact Dr. Ann Daghistany Ransdell or Dr. Jim Whitlark by clicking on either name or by calling the Department of English at (806) 742-2500. For general information about graduate study in English at Texas Tech University, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies by email or at (806) 742-2500 ext. 248.
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