Welcome to the Comparative Literature Program at Vanderbilt University. The Comparative Literature Program and its undergraduate Humanities Division is centered in Furman Hall, the building that houses most of the language and literature departments including Classics, and some other programs such as American Studies and Women's Studies. Furman is easy to find, as it is the only "mock-Gothic" building on campus -- you can recognize it by its towers and battlements.

Comparative Literature entails not only the study of various literatures in a variety of languages, but also the study of the connections (and differences) between different modes of thinking and of representing the world. Thus, a true "comparatist" is interested in the ways in which a variety of concepts, images and histories have enriched or complicated our cultural ideas. In addition to thinking about the ways in which our literatures relate to each other, we are also concerned with examining the ways in which what we call "literature" is associated with "sister arts", like film or painting, and with mental sciences and frames of knowing, such as those supplied by, e.g., anthropology, psychology, and philosophy. Comparative Literature is an entryway to World Literature, a means of exploring what various peoples and individuals have thought about being in the world.

Comparative Literature at Vanderbilt is both a graduate and an undergraduate program. Come to the office at Furman 128, or write to our e-mail address, for information regarding the exciting new undergraduate Major and Minor in Comparative Literature, and our Honors Program in Comparative Literature, all freshly available as of April 1999.  A recent graduate, Nancy Twilley, will be studying German at Washington University in St. Louis while another graduate, Alison Leithner, will be teaching English this Fall in Vienna.

A new addition to our Graduate Program is the graduate concentration in Philosophy and Literature. This is an interdisciplinary minor to assist graduate students in the humanities who are interested in relating the two disciplines of literature and philosophy, especially through their doctoral dissertation This concentration is available to any student enrolled in a doctoral program in a literature field or in philosophy who is in good standing within his or her department. It is advisable for students to declare as soon as they have determined their general specialization for their doctoral dissertation. The 15-hour minor consists of 12 hours of approved courses, including at least one course offered in the Department of Philosophy, (see appendix) and the required core course, "Philosophy and Literature," Comparative Literature 360, cross-listed as Philosophy 360. Up to 3 hours of directed independent study may be taken. The total number of courses would be 4 or 5, dependent upon the credit hours of certain graduate-level seminars.

Students are encouraged to take full advantage of the rich course offerings in Vanderbilt's individual language and literature departments (such as Classics, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and at the elementary level Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese). Students are likewise encouraged to take advantage of the offerings of such departments as Anthropology, Art History, History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Psychology and of other Programs such as American Studies, East Asian Studies, or Women's Studies.

Our close relationship with other departments and disciplines gives us great advantages. As we go "global" and enter the 21st century, we can see that the study of Comparative Literature is a bridgehead to the future, and a valuable means of exploring our past and present-- not within the confines of only one nation or one language group but from a global perspective. The study of Comparative Literature offers a model for ways in which studies in the future will be conducted without considering national frontiers as permanent and impermeable boundaries, nor imagining that disciplines of the mind (such as philosophy or psychology or literary study) have nothing to say to each other. To be interested in Comparative Literature is to be interested in connections -- without resorting to cheap cliches about our small, small world. For this is also a large and complex world but certainly very exciting.

The following are particular strengths of our program: Literature and Philosophy, Literature and Religious Studies, Literature and History, and Literary Theory. We also enjoy, at both the graduate and undergraduate level, close working relationships with Vanderbilt's various national literature departments (English, Classics, French and Italian, German, and Spanish and Portuguese), and our students are not only encouraged but required to take courses in these areas. With the arrival of Professor Earl Fitz, we are excited about being able to attract students interested in the fast growing new field of Inter-American Literature, an area of inquiry that examines a host of historical, cultural, and, of course, literary relations between North, Central, and South America.

We rejoice in the splendid students from many different countries and from many diverse parts of the United States who have come here and enriched the lives of all. The Comparative Literature graduate students tend to be a harmonious group who pool their resources and share knowledge. This is so, despite--or perhaps because of--their diversity not only in background but in interests.

We hope that what follows will answer all your questions--but do not hesitate to write, telephone, or send us some e-mail if you have any inquiries. E-mail should be directed to: complit@vanderbilt.edu