An overview of the main requirements is below: language requirement. in addition to english, students must have a command of two modern languages and one classical language. students must elect one language as their principal foreign language. a firm reading knowledge of the other two languages must be demonstrated either through undergraduate proficiency examinations or coursework. in determining proficiency in the principal foreign language, students are held to the standards of the departments of foreign languages. the major literature. the program of study in the major literature aims at giving students a solid background upon which to build professional credentials in that field. additional literatures. students are expected to enrich their knowledge of their special fields through work in different languages and literatures. some of this work is done in comparative literature courses, but at least one minor literature must also be designated and studied in the pertinent department.

advising. advisers are ordinarily chosen by the end of the second year in preparation for the general examination. at least one of these examiners, the committee chair, must be on the faculty of the department of comparative literature. after concluding the examination, the student, in consultation with the director of graduate studies, selects a committee of advisers to direct the dissertation. again, at least one of the dissertation committee members, normally the committee chair, must be on the faculty of the department of comparative literature. general examination. the general examination both tests and reflects the candidate's course of study. based on a reading list devised by the student and the student's advisers, the written examination is divided into two parts. the first part concerns the candidate's major literature and is comprehensive in nature. the second part, in comparative literature, is usually taken by the end of the sixth semester. it is intensive in nature and consists of questions based on those areas of study that the candidate has prepared in consultation with faculty advisers. Harvard rsquo s department of comparative literature, formally established in 1906 after more than a decade of the university offering courses in the field, is one of the country rsquo s oldest and most distinguished. With a faculty that has included such scholars as irving babbitt, albert lord, harry levin, claudio guill n, and barbara johnson, the department has played a crucial role in shaping what remains a polymorphous discipline.

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Reflecting the ongoing paradigm shift of comparative studies from an almost exclusive focus on western european traditions to a more global awareness, our faculty ranks include specialists in the literatures and cultures not only of western and eastern europe and north america, but also those of africa, east asia, latin america, and the middle east the majority of our incoming graduate students now work on at least one non western literature. The department rsquo s twenty seven faculty members most with joint appointments in other literature departments and nearly fifty graduate students have come from across the globe to study, teach, and publish on literatures in dozens of languages from a wide range of historical periods. Research conducted in the department reflects a wide scope of methods, approaches, and questions. Critical theory, literary interpretation, and comparative philology provide the basis for work on translation, the history of ideas, gender, drama, oral poetics, multilingualism, religion, postcolonialism, the environmental and medical humanities, globalization, and world literature. Our students and faculty members also work in a variety of fields contiguous with literature, including architecture and the visual and dramatic arts, film and music, history, anthropology, philosophy, law, and medicine. The department rsquo s phd program is designed for students who wish to develop a unified program of study that enables them to obtain the deep and rigorous training in one or two literatures that is necessary for an academic position, while simultaneously placing their major literature s in regional if not global context by completing coursework and doing research in additional literatures or related fields, as well as in comparative literature. Complimenting their seminars in comparative literature, students also take seminars in such departments as african and african american studies, the classics, east asian languages and civilizations, english, germanic languages and literatures, history, near eastern languages and civilizations, romance languages and literatures, slavic languages and literatures, and south asian studies.

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Many students also engage in interdisciplinary work, taking courses and often earning qualification in secondary fields such as visual and environmental studies, medieval studies, music, and studies of women, gender, and sexuality. The department takes an active role in the career development of its students from their first year forward, taking seriously its responsibility to provide students with the expertise necessary to secure positions in academe, while also recognizing the wide range of other careers open to phds in comparative literature and encouraging students to familiarize themselves with different options. The course professing literature provides students in their early years with the tools to succeed in graduate school and beyond, while the renato poggioli graduate colloquium series enables students of all levels to present their works in progress to peers and faculty, everything from seminar papers to mock job talks. Funding for graduate study is generally provided by a full fellowship tuition and stipend in the first two years as well as in the final year dissertation completion fellowship , and by a combination of tuition grants and teaching fellowships in the intervening years. Students frequently teach in comparative literature and in the general education program, as well as in the language and literature departments most closely related to their primary literature s they are encouraged to obtain a diverse teaching portfolio, including both language and section teaching as well as individual tutoring of department undergraduates. The graduate school of arts and sciences and harvard rsquo s many area centers additionally provide a variety of fellowships for which students can compete for further support of everything from summer language training after the first year of graduate school, to dissertation research and writing in their final years. The phd in comparative literature generally takes 6 8 years, depending on a student rsquo s prior training most students enter with an a.m.

Dissertation Program Evaluation

Students are expected to complete course requirements in the first two years, take orals and satisfy the language requirement by the end of the third year, and obtain approval for their dissertation prospectus in the first semester of the fourth year. The impressive range of students rsquo dissertation topics is supported by harvard rsquo s extensive library resources. The largest university collection in the world, harvard rsquo s libraries have combined holdings of more than 16 million items. Yet given the diverse nature of their research projects, most students also spend time away from harvard, for both language training and study in libraries and archives. This work is largely funded by fellowships from the graduate school as well as from harvard rsquo s many area centers. When in cambridge, students enjoy the department's home, the historic dana palmer house at 16 quincy street. With its comfortable lounge and meeting and seminar rooms as well as administrative and faculty offices, dana palmer house provides an excellent setting for scholarly exchange.

Application for admission must be to the phd program, with the exception of harvard college undergraduates with advanced standing who apply for a combined ab/am. Students already in the phd program may receive an am degree en route to the doctorate. One of these courses must be the proseminar, another must be a 200 level seminar in comparative literature, and the remaining six must include three in the first literature and two in the second literature.

No more than one of the eight semester courses may be a 300 level reading course. Candidates are required to have at least as many 200 level as 100 level courses, and only in rare exceptions may courses below the 100 level count toward the degree. The candidate must demonstrate proficiency in three languages, one of which may be english.

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Except for ab/am candidates, one of the languages must be premodern or cross cultural, as described in the requirements for the phd. The doctor of philosophy phd sixteen courses are required for the phd in comparative literature, of which at least eight must be graduate 200 level seminars. Students can arrange to do extra work, typically in the form of a graduate level research paper, to receive 200 level credit for courses that are listed at the 100 level. The remaining eight courses may include 100 level courses, 200 level seminars, 300 level reading and research courses, or language courses up to four language courses may be counted toward the degree.

Students are expected to balance coursework in the following manner: at least four courses in the department of comparative literature including up to two 100 level courses and eight approved courses in national literatures, most frequently four courses in the first literature and two courses in the second and third literatures. To satisfy the literature requirements in the first, second, and third literatures, reading must be done in the original language. The first literature must also have a historical component, regardless of the area of specialization the first literature must include at least one course in a period different from the period of the other two courses in this literature.

Other coursework for the phd may include relevant courses in literature, language, or other disciplines relevant to student interests, such as philosophy, history, anthropology, religion, linguistics, film, music, and art history. Overall, student coursework must include a significant dimension of comparative historical or cross cultural study. This dimension can be met by taking a minimum of three courses with a chronological or regional focus different from the student rsquo s primary area of focus. By the time students take the oral examination spring of the g3 year , they must know at least four languages related to their course of study and long term interests. In general, three of these languages are those of their first, second, and third literatures, while the fourth language can be instrumental, meaning that students need have only a basic reading knowledge. At least one of the student rsquo s four languages must be cross cultural or diachronic in relation to the others. To give two examples: students of modern europe must obtain reading knowledge of a language from outside modern europe, while students of modern east asia must obtain reading knowledge of a classical east asian language or a modern or classical language from outside east asia.