<p>What <em>is</em> this? I know it is the study of literature of different languages, but how is the major/program set up? How would you set up pre-requisites for it? I'm very interested in this, but I have no clue what it actually <em>is</em>.</p>
<p>Any comp lit majors on here, or with any background on the degree? Is it just a bunch of randomly compiled classes on different authors, or is it more cohesive? Do you have to have a fluency in a language before studying it in literature--i.e., do I have to take like ~4 German classes before I can study Hesse? How many languages can you choose--can someone combine English, French (which they studied five years in high school), and German, which they know nothing of at this point?</p>
<p>Sorry for all the questions...I know none of you are undergraduate advisors.</p>
<p>I majored in Comp Lit at Northwestern many many years ago. I did that instead of English because, while I loved literature, I also loved and was good at French. In retrospect, after 35 years of reflection, it was not a worthwhile major. I took lots of random courses -- some in English lit (Milton's Paradise Lost, eg); some in Italian lit (read Cervantes and Dante), some in French (read Proust's Swann's Way, in the original French). It made me very capable of answering lots of questions on Jeopardy.</p>
<p>But hey -- I'm one person, that was a long time ago, and it was at one school. Things might be different now.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, what field of employment are you in now? Something dealing with English or French? And what career paths do you think are available to majors such as this one?</p>
<p>Well, I should say that I found the course catalogue for my school, so now I know exactly what is Comp Lit and how the BA is structured.</p>
<p>I was thinking about comp lit because I really want to study literature, and I'd feel too restricted by a regular English major. A good heaping of my favorite literatures are -not- in English and I would love to pursue them in college. I was thinking on complimenting a Comp Lit degree with another language major. My school has such a flexible curriculum that I'd be so clueless without double majoring. :) I'm considering going into a academia (universities) for literature and I was thinking that a broad background in literature would really help me with my analysis...</p>
<p>Plus, I know this is a silly little thing, but English departments tend to be HUGE. I know there are alot of course offerings, but I still hate large class sizes. Large to me is anything more than 20-25 people. :(</p>
<p>Joexc07: For the first ten years of my career, I was an editor -- so it was relevant. I'm good at writing and all that stuff. Then I went back to school and got an MBA, for two reasons: (1) Earn more money; (2) Satisfy my need for knowledge about econ, accounting, and other business-related things. But my communication skills have been useful throughout my "second" career. Still, note that I now don't do anything official as a result of majoring in Comp Lit.</p>
<p>I also got into a whole mental thing during my senior year, wondering whether literary criticism ("lit crit") was of any value or if it was just a bunch of old men vultures feeding on the works of the truly creative, the artists. So I decided to back off any further academics for Comp Lit.</p>
<p>I am considering a major in the same field but for different reasons. I hope to work for a fashion house in Milan that has a partnership b with this New York jewelry company that I intern for. The school I am attending next year’s program is more focused on the comparative and language part. Students must graduate with competence in at least 3 languages I’m picking Germany Italian and Portuguese. But one thing about Comp Lit it’s more about comparing the culture and arts of the languages you choose to focus on. Meaning that I won’t just be reading Italian I will be looking at Italian art and comparing it to the other cultures you are studying. Hope I helped.</p>