Undergraduate Program Major:
Mark Hansen, Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS)
The Literature Major
The Literature Major offers a unique interdisciplinary approach to the study of literature, film, and cultural forms. It enables students to engage in cross-cultural analysis both in a global (colonial and postcolonial) context and within one national space. It also aims to train students to develop a sophisticated appreciation of the ways questions of race, class, gender, and sexuality arise in different historical and social contexts.
Requirements for the Major:
The major is comprised of ten courses, nine of which must be at the 100 level or higher. All students must take Literature 90, a general introduction to the methods and concepts that define the interdisciplinary nature of the major; and three core courses in each of the three major areas that constitute the major: Literature 100, Introduction to Cultural Studies, Literature 101, Introduction to the Art of Reading, and Literature 110, Introduction to Film.
The remaining courses may be chosen to develop a focus on one of the core areas (literature, cultural studies, or film) or to develop a comparatist sampling that draws on all three areas. Students who choose film as a focus may wish to consider the Certificate Program in Film/Video/Digital.
Additionally, all students must take at least one film or literature course with a world or national focus; and at least one course devoted to the study of race, class, gender, or sexuality.
Of the remaining four elective courses, all must be Literature courses, i.e., excluding courses in film or video production.