History and Literature

<p>Is Harvard's History and Literature concentration unique to Harvard?</p>

<p>Some other universities have programs that have a lot in common with Hist & Lit. I've seen majors called "Humanities" or "Arts & Letters."</p>

<p>Actually, I am not aware of any program that is as rigorous and interesting as History and Literature. For the last 15-20 years, there has been a lot of interest in sophisticated historical approaches to literary studies -- a movement of which the godfather is Stephen Greenblatt of Harvard, who apparently has nothing much to do with the H&L program there -- so lots of universities will have lots of courses that would fit well within a H&L rubric, at least on the "L" side. But the Harvard concentration is pretty impressive in its focus and balance, much more so that generalized "Humanities" majors elsewhere.</p>

<p>That said, a thoughtful student could essentially build a program like this for himself in the English departments of a dozen universities.</p>

<p>Do Folk & Myth, that's unique.</p>