The faculty of the Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages Department are widely-known for their work in comparative Asian and European studies. We offer a robust and balanced literature, culture, and theory program, with particular strength in gender and feminist studies, postcolonialism, media and cultural studies, critical theory, science and science fiction studies, and comparative ancient civilizations. Students have flexibility in designing their own unique interdisciplinary and interliterary programs. Among the literatures students may work in are Chinese, English, French, German, Classical Greek, Italian, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, Latin, Filipino, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
The University of California, Riverside is a major research university in the University of California system. It is located an hour east of Los Angeles, and includes mountains, hot springs, wineries, beaches, and the spectacular natural reserves of Joshua Tree and Anza Borego, as well as Los Angeles itself, within easy driving distance. The majority of our graduate students receive fellowships, T.A.-ships, and other forms of financial support, and are drawn from around the world.
Three Tracks
The Department of Comparative Literature offers the M.A. and the Ph.D. degrees in Comparative Literature. Students may choose among three tracks:
- Interliterary
- Interdisciplinary
- Science Fiction
Students may enter the program with or without an M.A. in literature. Those entering without will first complete the M.A. before continuing to the Ph.D.
Please see also the Tri-Campus Graduate Program in Classics (link to: http://www.humanities.uci.edu/classics/Tricampus)
Interliterary Studies
This program is designed for students wishing to concentrate in Comparative Literature as an interliterary discipline. Students generally work in a combination of three of the following literatures: Chinese, English (either British or American), French, German, Classical Greek, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Permission is granted in exceptional cases to work in other literatures related to Germanic, Romance, or Slavic families, in Hebrew or Arabic literature, or in other Asian or African Literatures
In their first literature (the major speciality), students take a comprehensive approach to the language, literary history, and critical scholarship. In their two other literatures, they specialize in a genre, a period, a critical school or a theoretical approach, always in relation to their main literature. Work in all three literatures must be done in the languages of these literatures.
Interdisciplinary Studies
This program is designed for students with interests in interdisciplinary research and teaching. Students examine relationships between literary studies and other disciplines (such as art history, media studies, women’s studies, ethnic studies, history, law, music, philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies, science, sociology, and theater), Students take courses in an appropriate discipline in place of one of their secondary literary concentrations.This option is recommended to students who enter Comparative Literature with an M.A. in a non-literary discipline.
Science Fiction, Science, and Literature
This option is designed for students with interests in science fiction studies and the relations of science to world literature. It builds upon the current widespread interest in Science Fiction and draws on the primary research material’s in the Eaton Collection, housed in UCR’s Rivera Library. The program is intended for students who have already completed an undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature, English or kindred studies. It draws on the speculative richness of science fiction literature in a wide variety of social contexts, including the role of science in society (genetic engineering, artificial environments, nanotechnology, etc.), race and ethnicity, and social ethics. This track interacts with existing programs in the humanities, arts, social sciences and sciences. It is inherently cross-disciplinary both within the humanities, and between the humanities and sciences.