Undergraduate Bulletin Logo








Table of Contents
- About the Bulletin

- Introduction to Stony Brook

- Student Services

- Admissions

- Financial Information

- Scholarships and Awards

- Degree Requirements

- Academic Policies and Regulations

- Special Academic Programs

- Approved Programs

- Courses

- Supplement to the Bulletin - Fall 2000

Other Useful Links
- Schedule of Classes

- Academic Advising

- Campus Map


State University of New York at Stony Brook
Site Designed by
Melissa Bishop/DoIT
Last Modified 03/02/2001 01:33:50 PM EST		Department of Comparative Studies

Chairperson: Krin Gabbard
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Robert Harvey
Administrative Assistant: Mary Moran-Luba
Office: E-4309 Library
Phone: 632-7460
E-mail: robert.harvey@sunysb.edu
Web Address: http://ws.cc.sunysb.edu/complit

Minors of particular interest to students majoring in comparative studies: Africana studies (AFS), art history (ARH), cinema and cultural studies (CCS), classics (CLS), English (EGL), French (FRN), German (GER), history (HIS), Italian (ITL), interdisciplinary arts (LIA), Judaic studies

The Department of Comparative Studies integrates the efforts of a number of humanities programs centering on comparative literature, language, and culture. In addition to the major in comparative literature, described below, the department offers major programs in humanities and religious studies and minor programs in classical civilization, Japanese studies, Korean studies, and religious studies. Requirements for these programs appear under each program title elsewhere in the alphabetical listings of Arts and Sciences programs. Further information is available in the Comparative Studies Office.

The Major in Comparative Literature
The comparative literature major (CLT) brings the historical and intercultural resources of the department together in a broadly based program for the student interested in comparative and general literature. It stresses the comparative study of world literatures from all historical periods, including the ability to read at least one literature in a language other than English, and emphasizes the relationship between literature and other disciplines. Individual programs can be adjusted to the special interests of the student through consultation with the director of undergraduate studies.

Courses in Comparative Literature

Requirements for the Major in Comparative Studies in Literature
The interdisciplinary major in comparative literature leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree. All courses offered for the major must be taken for a letter grade. All upper-division courses offered for the major must be passed with a grade of C or higher.

Completion of the major requires 36 credits.
  1. Introduction: Two courses that survey a literary theme historically and cross-culturally, selected from the following:
    • HUM 109 Philosophy and Literature in Social Context
    • HUM 121 Death and Afterlife in Literature
    • HUM 122 Images of Women in Literature
    • HUM 123 Sexuality in Literature
    • RLS 101 World Religions I
    • RLS 102 World Religions II
  2. Background: Three courses beyond the introductory level, at least two of which must be in literature (group 1) and one of which may be in a related discipline (group 2):
    Group 1: CLS 215, CLT 211, 212, 220, 266, or one course per designator from EGL 200-level, FRN 395, 396, ITL 395, 396, GER 344, HUR 241, 242, JDH 261, or one of the following classical language courses: GRK 112, LAT 112, SKT 112
    Group 2: JDH/RLS 230, JDS/HIS 225, 226, PHI 200, 206, 208, 264, RLS 240, 246, 250, 260, 270, 280
    Note: Requirement B can also be fulfilled by completion of any minor in the department: classics, Japanese, Judaic, Korean, or religious studies.
  3. Literature in the Original Language:
    At least one course in literature in its original language (other than English)
  4. Theory: CLT 301 Theory of Literature
  5. Advanced Study: Four upper-division courses, at least one from each of groups 1 and 2:
    Group 1: CLT 331 Literary Genres: Poetry CLT 332 Literary Genres: Drama CLT 333 Literary Genres: Novel CLT 334 Other Literary Genres
    Group 2: CLT 335 Interdisciplinary Study of Films CLT 361 Literature and Society CLT 362 Literature and Ideas CLT 363 Literature and the Arts
  6. Senior Project: A directed study project (CLT 487 or, for students in the honors program, CLT 495) for graduating majors, to be arranged with the major advisor and an instructor of the student’s choice no later than the end of the first semester of senior standing.
  7. Upper-Division Writing Requirement:
    For all majors, the term paper for required course CLT 301 is evaluated by the instructor for its quality of writing. Students whose writing is satisfactory fulfill this requirement with that paper. Students who do not fulfill the requirement in CLT 301 must submit to the major advisor a portfolio of papers written for subsequent upper-division courses taken for the major, no later than the first semester of senior standing, and must achieve an evaluation of S (Satisfactory) on the portfolio. For further details consult the director of undergraduate studies or the major advisor.
Honors Program in Comparative Literature

Students who have maintained a grade point average of 3.5 in the major and 3.0 overall may attempt the degree in comparative literature with honors.

The honors program requires one of the following options in addition to the requirements of the major:

  1. A second course in literature in the original language used for requirement C.
  2. Study of a language other than that used for requirement C through the intermediate level.
  3. Fulfillment of the requirements for the minor in a cognate discipline (to be approved by the major advisor; minors in language or literature recommended).
    In addition, students seeking the honors major must use CLT 495 to fulfill major requirement F.

Requirements for the Minor in Comparative Literature
The minor in comparative literature is designed especially to interest students majoring in a foreign language, English, and other humanities fields. It provides a broad overview of the theory and techniques of comparative study, and an opportunity for the student to bring comparative breadth to his or her major field of study.

Completion of the minor requires 21 credits.
  1. Introduction: One course that surveys a literary theme historically and cross-culturally, selected from the following:
    • HUM 109 Philosophy and Literature in Social Context
    • HUM 121 Death and Afterlife in Literature
    • HUM 122 Images of Women in Literature
    • HUM 123 Sin and Sexuality in Literature
    • RLS 101 World Religions I
    • RLS 102 World Religions II
  2. Background: Two courses beyond the introductory level, at least one of which must be in literature (group 1) and one of which may be in a related discipline (group 2):
    Group 1: CLS 215, CLT 211, 212, 220, 266, or one course per designator from EGL 200-level, FRN 395, 396, ITL 395, 396, GER 344, HUR 241, 242, JDH 261, or one of the following classical language courses: GRK 112, LAT 112, SKT 112
    Group 2: JDH/RLS 230, JDS/HIS 225, 226, PHI 200, 206, 208, 264, RLS 240, 246, 250, 260, 270, 280
  3. Literature in the Original Language:
    At least one course in literature in its original language (other than English)
  4. Theory: CLT 301 Theory of Literature
  5. Advanced Study:
    Two upper-division courses, one from group 1, and one from group 2:
    Group 1: CLT 331 Literary Genres: Poetry CLT 332 Literary Genres: Drama CLT 333 Literary Genres: Novel CLT 334 Other Literary Genres
    Group 2: CLT 335 Interdisciplinary Study of Film CLT 361 Literature and Society CLT 362 Literature and Ideas CLT 363 Literature and the Arts
Faculty
Thomas J.J. Altizer, Professor Emeritus, Ph.D., University of Chicago: Religion and literature; theology.
Ruth S. Bottigheimer, Adjunct Professor, D.A., State University of New York at Stony Brook: German literature; fairy tales.
William Chittick, Professor, Ph.D., Teheran University: Islamic studies; comparative mysticism.
Sungtaek Cho, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley: Buddhist literature and history in east and south Asia.
Krin Gabbard, Professor, Ph.D., Indiana University: The arts and their interrelations; film; jazz.
Beverly Haviland, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Princeton University; 19th- and 20th-century English, American, and French literature; literary theory and psychoanalysis.
Robert Harvey, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley: Contemporary French and Maghrebian Francophone literatures; critical theory, film.
Sachiko Murata, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Teheran University: Islam; Japanese religions.
Sung-Bae Park, Professor, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley: Buddhist studies; Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean religious thought.
Sandy Petrey, Professor, Ph.D., Yale University: 19th-century French literature.
Ilona Rashkow, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of Maryland at College Park: Literature and politics; Hebrew Bible and literary theory.
Mark Setton, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Oxford: East Asian intellectual history; Korean Confucianism.
Michael Sprinker, Professor, Ph.D., Princeton University: Literary criticism; 19th- and 20th-century British and American literature.
Louise O. Vasvari, Professor, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley: Medieval Spanish literature; Romance philology; linguistics; translation theory. Recipient of the State University Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1976.
Ban Wang, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles: Chinese and English literature; cultural studies; literary theory; aesthetics.
Affiliated Faculty
Timothy Brennan, English
Román de la Campa, Hispanic Languages and Literature
E. Ann Kaplan, English
Joaquin Martinez-Pizzaro, English
Mary C. Rawlinson, Philosophy
Nicholas Rzhevsky, European Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Clifford Siskin, English
Adjunct Faculty
Estimated number: 3
Teaching Assistants
Estimated number: 10

Back Home