Comparative Literature - Hamilton College Clinton

Comparative Literature from Hamilton College Clinton is a Campus Bachelor Literature degree that prepares you for a Liberal Arts career. A WORK OF LITERATURE ALWAYS MAKES CONNECTIONS. It not only reaches individual readers; it can invoke other literary works and traditions, it can challenge or embrace scientific or historical knowledge, it can be translated into another language or transformed by film. Comparative literature explores this rich tapestry of relationships. At Hamilton, comparative literature is the study of literary and cultural texts from around the globe. This is the study of literature in the broadest sense. Courses in the comparative literature program focus on canonical texts, popular literature, film and even opera from diverse national traditions. They range from in-depth study of Dante's Inferno to an overview of Japanese film, and from an examination of the way tragedy has been redefined in different cultural contexts to an exploration of how the detective story is used by avant-garde novelists. The concentration in comparative literature is extremely flexible and is built around each student's individual interests. But it is held together by a core of required courses in literary history and literary theory as well as an intensive senior seminar. Much of each student's work is done in other literature departments and involves reading in foreign languages. The minor includes five courses, one of which is a required survey of either literary history or literary theory; foreign language work is recommended, but not required, for the minor. RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES Students of comparative literature often have the opportunity to work as research assistants with faculty members, both during the summer and during the academic year. In addition, many students take advantage of the rich opportunities for study abroad provided by Hamilton. In recent years, students of comparative literature have studied in such places as France, Chile, Spain, India, Ireland, China, Nepal, Scotland, England and Kenya. THE SENIOR PROGRAM All majors in comparative literature participate in an intensive senior seminar, during which they work closely with faculty members on topics involving translation of literary works and communication between cultures. In addition seniors are encouraged to pursue ? and those seniors interested in departmental honors are required to complete ? a senior project, which leads to the writing of a senior thesis. Carried out under the close supervision of a faculty member, the senior thesis represents a culmination of each student's undergraduate experience; it synthesizes coursework, discussion and personal reflection into a focused statement of intellectual growth and insight. More ... RESOURCES The College's Burke Library offers a strong collection of texts and periodicals on various facets of comparative literature and the literary and cinematic traditions of other cultures. Also housed at the library is the College's Beinecke Lesser Antilles Collection, regarded as the world's finest collection of 16th- to 19th-century materials on this region of the West Indies, with more than 1,800 print volumes and 1,000 manuscripts. The Comparative Literature Department has strong interdisciplinary ties to a number of other programs on campus: Asian studies, Russian studies, American studies, women's studies, Africana studies, Latin American studies and the Diversity and Social Justice Project. All of these provide personal and scholarly resources of interest to many comparative literature students. View more details on Hamilton College . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Literature courses.