Comparative Lit vs English

College Majors
1

Hello everyone!

I’ve recently been going through a dilemma of what to major in. I’ve been attending community college for a year and a half and plan on transferring by the fall of 2018. I’m currently an English major, but I’ve been thinking of applying as a comparative literature major for transfer. I have determined that I want to double major in a literary field and international studies, but I’m not sure which literary area to pursue. Although I have loved my time studying English, I feel that Comparative Literature might complement a major in International Studies a bit better. However, I also have my doubts about majoring in Comparative Literature since my grasp of foreign languages is a bit lacking. I studied Spanish for four years in high school and took the AP Spanish Language and Literature exam as well, but it’s been two years since I took a Spanish class so my skills are a bit rusty. I also started learning Arabic in fall 2017, but my school and the schools around it only offer elementary Arabic. Once I transfer, I’d like to take a variety of courses on Literature not written in English, including Arabic, Spanish, French, and Greek literature, but I will most likely have to take these courses in English rather than in their original language. Of course, I’d like to take some British/American literature courses as well. Additionally, I would like to concentrate or minor in creative writing, but unfortunately some schools only offer that option for English majors. As for my career plans, I am open to working in journalism, publishing, editing, translating, and NGO/humanitarian organizations. Which major would suit my interests more favorably? Would it be more beneficial to major in English and concentrate in Comparative Literature rather than majoring in it?

2

Either major suits your interests about equally well. The way Brown’s department describes comp lit is instructive: “Comparative literature…performs a role similar to that of the study of international relations, but works with languages and artistic traditions, so as to understand cultures ‘from the inside’”. Basically, you’ll be studying international relations through the lens of literary works - because cultures’ literature can tell you a lot about the cultures themselves.

So if you have an interest in international relations, then comparative literature is probably closer to that than English. If you are specifically interested in taking classes on literature that was written in other languages - even in translation -
comparative literature sounds like a better fit for you. English is also about the deep study of literature - but specifically English literature, and much of that is going to be American and British literature.

If you like languages you can always take more classes. If you want to be an IR major you should be taking foreign language classes anyway.

3

Awesome! Thanks for your informative answer @juillet. I definitely have an interest in IR and foreign language so comp lit is perfect!