Comparative Literary Studies
School of Languages, Literatures and
Comparative Literary Studies:
Comparative
Literary Studies
Dunton
Tower 1416
Telephone: 520-2177
Fax: 520-2564
E-mail: comp_lit@carleton.ca
The School
Assistant Director,
Gurli A. Woods
Supervisor of Graduate Studies, F.G. Loriggio
Comparative
Literary Studies offers programs of graduate study leading to the
degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative
Literary Studies.
The purpose of
the program in comparative literature is to study literature in
its international context, and to relate and compare literary
phenomena usually studied in isolation because of linguistic
barriers and the traditional departmental division of academic
disciplines. Thus, taking into account the interrelation of all
humanistic studies, such as the various literatures, philosophy,
psychology, sociology, the visual arts, and history, comparatists
view literary creation within the total complex evolution of
world literature. The historical flow of literary archetypes, the
role of folklore and myth in literature, recurrent problems of
literary theory, and consideration of the less well known
literatures of the world are some of the objects of compartive
literary studies.
Qualifying-Year
Program
The regulations
governing admission to the qualifying-year program are outlined
in the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
Applicants who
hold only a B.A. (3 year) degree will be required to successfully
complete the basic courses, Comparative Literary Studies 17.401«: Foundations of Comparative Literary
Studies (history of the discipline) and Comparative Literary
Studies 17.402«: Theories of Literature
(twentieth-century literary theories), and to take courses from
other departments of literature or Comparative Literary Studies
to achieve the equivalent of a Combined Honours B.A. with high
honours standing.
The total course
program must be determined in consultation with the supervisor of
graduate studies. Formal admission to the master’s program
may be considered at the end of the first term.
Master of
Arts
Admission
Requirements
The regulations
governing admission to the M.A. program are outlined in the
General Regulations section of this Calendar (see p. 55).
The specific
requirements for admission to the M.A. program in Comparative
Literary Studies are as follows:
- An Honours
B.A. degree (or the equivalent) with at least high
honours standing in a literature (studied in the original
language) or in two literatures or in a literature and a
related arts subject
- Proficiency
in English
- An ability
to work at the graduate level in an additional language
approved by Comparative Literary Studies. Students whose
record does not clearly demonstrate this ability will be
required to take as part of their program at least 0.5
credit in the literature of this second language in the
original language
Program
Requirements
Students accepted
into the master’s program without having taken the two 0.5
credits, Comparative Literary Studies 17.401 and 17.402 (or their
equivalent), will have a 6.0 credit requirement, including 17.401
and 17.402.
Master’s
candidates in Comparative Literary Studies will follow one of two
5.0 credit options:
Thesis
Program:
- Comparative
Literary Studies 17.501 (0.5 credit), and 17.502 (0.5
credit)
- 1.5 credits
at the 500-level selected from those courses offered by
Comparative Literary Studies (Directed Studies excluded)
- 0.5 credit
at the 500-level selected from any course offered in
Comparative Literary Studies or from other programs in
the University with permission of the graduate committee,
but normally not exceeding 0.5 credit
- 17.599 (2.0
credits)
Non-Thesis
Program
- Comparative
Literary Studies 17.501 (0.5 credit), and 17.502 (0.5
credit)
- 2.5 credits
at the 500-level selected from those courses offered by
Comparative Literary Studies (Directed Studies excluded)
- 0.5 credit
at the 500-level selected from any course offered in
Comparative Literary Studies or from other programs in
the University with permission of the graduate committee,
but normally not exceeding 0.5 credit
- 17.593 (1.0
credit)
Guidelines
for Completion
of Master’s Degree
The master’s
program is normally completed no later than two years or six
terms after initial full-time registration and six years or
eighteen terms after initial part-time registration.
Doctor of
Philosophy
Admission
Requirements
The normal
requirement for admission to the Ph.D. program is an M.A. degree
in literary studies (or in related subjects approved by
Comparative Literary Studies) with at least high honours
standing, normally with no grade below B–.
Each applicant
must supply proof, by means of a research effort that has
resulted in an extensive essay, that he or she is capable of
producing a publishable paper. Such proof will be submitted at
the time of application to the program.
Students admitted
into the program with a master’s degree earned in another
department or institution will be required to make up any
deficiencies in course work as required by Comparative Literary
Studies.
In exceptional
cases, an outstanding student who has completed the B.A. Honours
degree and who meets the language requirements outlined below,
may be admitted directly to the doctoral program. The program
requirement for these students is normally 15.0 credits.
A student who
transfers from the master’s program in Comparative Literary
Studies must meet the language requirements on admission as well
as those listed under program requirements.
Applicants must
demonstrate a capacity to work at the graduate level in at least
two languages other than English. The two languages must be
approved by Comparative Literary Studies. Normally, one of the
two languages must be French. Applicants must also be proficient
in English. Students whose native tongue is not English may be
required to pass the TOEFL test with a minimum score of 600.
Program
Requirements
- 3.0 credits
at the 600-level to be chosen from courses offered by the
discipline. (0.5 credit may be at the 500-level.)
- 0.5 credit
at either the 500- or 600-level in the social sciences to
be approved by the graduate adviser.
- 0.5 credit
at the 600-level outside the area of specialization of
the student to be chosen from the courses offered by the
discipline.
- A 1.0 credit
comprehensive examination, both oral and written parts to
be taken prior to the approval of the Ph.D. thesis
prospectus.
- A thesis
equivalent to 5.0 credits.
Comprehensive
Examinations
The comprehensive
examination is designed to test the candidate’s competence
both in comparative literary theory and in the chosen area of
specialization. The comprehensive examination is to be completed
after course requirements for the Ph.D. have been completed.
Students admitted
to the program who have a master’s degree in the area of
literary studies (or in related subjects approved by Comparative
Literary Studies) must normally satisfy the comprehensive
examination requirement by the end of the third term in the
program.
Those students
either admitted directly into the program from the B.A. Honours
program or transferring from the master’s to the doctoral
program must satisfy the comprehensive examination requirement no
later than the end of the third year or ninth term of study.
Normally the
comprehensive examination must be completed no later than four
years or twelve terms after the initial part-time registration
following the M.A. (or equivalent).
Students admitted
directly from the B.A. Honours program or transferring from the
master’s to the doctoral program must earn 15.0 credits
beyond the B.A. honours and most of the master’s program in
Comparative Literary Studies, with the exception of the
comprehensive examination which may be replaced by course work
equivalent to 1.0 credit.
Thesis
Comparative
Literary Studies appoints a thesis supervisor and an advisory
committee for each doctoral candidate. A minimum of two faculty
members will constitute the thesis advisory committee and one of
the two members will be from outside Comparative Literary
Studies. Both the thesis supervisor and the advisory committee
determine when a thesis proposal may proceed to the graduate
committee of Comparative Literary Studies for approval.
Specialization
Requirements
Each candidate
must demonstrate competence in an area of specialization chosen
from the following list: postmodernism, post-colonialism,
feminism, gender and literature, the Hebrew Bible, intellectual
history, Latin American literature, literary history, literary
theory, literature and historical studies, literature and
linguistics, literature and religious studies, literature of the
Francophonie, literature written in English, language and social
sciences, medieval and early renaissance Hispanic literature,
modern theatre and dramatic literature, nineteenth- and
twentieth-century French literature, nineteenth- and
twentieth-century German literature, nineteenth- and
twentieth-century Italian literature.
Candidates who
enter the Ph.D. program with a master’s degree in a special
area or discipline, and who wish to either continue in that area
or discipline or choose another specialization in their doctoral
program, will be tested in their chosen area in the
specialization portion of the comprehensive examination.
Candidates
admitted directly from a B.A. Honours program or transferring
from the master’s to the doctoral program will be required
to take the equivalent of 3.0 credits in the area of
specialization, and will be tested in this area in the
specialization portion of their comprehensive examination.
Language
Requirement
Doctoral students
must acquire a reading knowledge in a third language, to be
approved by Comparative Literary Studies, before beginning the
comprehensive examination. Candidates must successfully complete
either 0.5 credit at the master’s level in the literature(s)
of that language (extra-to-the-degree) or a reading proficiency
test administered by Comparative Literary Studies.
Academic
Standing
All candidates
are required to maintain a GPA of B–.
Of the 10.0
credits required beyond the master’s level, no more than 1.0
credit may be at the 500-level.
Guidelines
for Completion of Doctoral Degree
Students admitted
with a B.A. Honours degree and registered full-time must normally
complete the comprehensive examination requirement by the end of
the third year or ninth term of full-time study. The thesis
proposal must normally be presented after three and one-half
years or ten terms of study.
Students admitted
with a master’s degree and registered full-time must
normally complete the comprehensive examination requirement by
the end of the third term of study. The thesis proposal must
normally be presented no later than the fourth term of study.
Students admitted
with a B.A. Honours degree and registered part-time must normally
complete the comprehensive examination requirement by the end of
the ninth year or after twenty-seven terms of study after their
initial part-time registration. The thesis proposal must normally
be presented no later than ten years or thirty terms of study
following the initial part-time registration.
Students admitted
with a master’s degree and registered part-time must
normally complete the comprehensive examination requirement by
the end of the fourth year or after twelve terms of study after
the initial part-time registration. The thesis proposal must
normally be presented no later than five years or fifteen terms
of study after the initial part-time registration.
Graduate
Courses
Not all of the
following courses are offered in a given year. For an up-to-date
statement of course offerings for 1998-99, please consult the Registration
Instructions and Class Schedule booklet published in
the summer.
F,W,S indicates
term of offering. Courses offered in the fall and winter are
followed by T. The number following the letter indicates the
credit weight of the course: 1 denotes 0.5 credit, 2 denotes 1.0
credit, etc.
A prerequisite
for all graduate-level courses is appropriate linguistic ability
and approval of Comparative Literary Studies.
A student will
not receive credit for both a 0.5 credit course and a 1.0 credit
course which bears the same topic title.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.501W1
Problems in the Theory of Literature I
Issues arising from the study of
literary theory of periods before the twentieth century. Topic
varies from year to year. For 1998-99, the topic is: Mimesis and
Criticism. Mimesis in literary studies from classical antiquity
to the present. Mimesis as imitation of action, imitation of
nature, post-colonial and multicultural mimicry, as simulacrum,
pastiche, camp, kitsch, trash art. Particular attention to the
shift from mimesis as epistemology to mimesis as ideology.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.502W1
Problems in the Theory of Literature II
This course will examine the issues
arising from the study of twentieth century literary theory.
Topic varies from year to year. For 1998-99, the topic is:
Historiography and Fiction. Relations between historiographical
and fictional writing, as they have come together in the
contemporary novel. Novels from Asia, Latin America, Europe and
the United States will provide the corpus for theoretical
discussion and analysis.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.520F1 or
W1
Literary History I: Comparative Study of
Canon Formation
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.521F1
Literary History II: Studies of Themes
and Myths
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.522F1
Literary History III: Periods, Styles,
and Movements
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.523W1
Literary History IV: Form and Function
of Genres
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.532F1
Studies in the Literature of Identity
For 1998-99 the topic is: Female
Identity: Writing by Women in the Twentieth Century. An
exploration of topics such as gender and narrativity,
women’s space, marginalization, women and madness, and
mothers and daughters in writing by women in the first half of
the twentieth century in northern Europe and North America. The
texts are discussed from a cross-cultural perspective with
reference to poststructuralist literary theory, including
feminist criticism.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.543F1 or
W1
Paraliterature
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.554F1 or
W1
Cross-Cultural Studies I: Literature
Written in the English Language
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Precludes additional credit for Comparative Literary Studies
17.550.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.555F1 or
W1
Cross-Cultural Studies II: Literature of
the Francophonie
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.556F1 or
W1
Cross-Cultural Studies II: Literature of
the Francophonie
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered
Precludes additional credit for Comparative Literary Studies
17.551.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.557F1 or
W1
Cross-Cultural Studies III: Literature
of the Luso-Hispanic World
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.558F1 or
W1
Comparative Canadian Literature I
For 1998-99, the topic is: Literary
Autobiography in English and French Canada. Using standard
autobiographical theory as well as its feminist and post-colonial
offshoots, this course examines a number of autobiographies from
English- and French-speaking Canada, emphasizing the role of such
elements as gender, cultural background or race, and geography in
shaping the narrative of self.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.559F1 or
W1
Comparative Canadian Literature II
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.561F1
Studies in Postmodernism I
For 1998-99, the topic is: Postmodern
Theory.
The theories of postmodernism and their relation to feminist
theory in art, philosophy, architecture, literature and theatre.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.562W1
Studies in Postmodernism II
For 1998-99, the topic is: Postmodern
Fiction.
Examination of postmodern fiction and fiction by women through
focusing on their use of narrative strategies and techniques,
such as genre subversion, non-fictionality, memory, historicity,
the palimpsest, intertextuality, and rhizomatic writing.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.565F1
Intertextuality: Literature and Other
Cultural Phenomena
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.571F1 or
W1
The Theory and Practice of Translation
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.580W1
Seminar in Comparative Literary Studies
For 1998-99 the topic is: Freudian
Impulses on Literature and Culture. A critical examination of
Sigmund Freud’s intellectual heritage, including N. Abraham,
B. Bettelheim, J. Kristeva, J. Lacan, J.-B. Pontalis and S.
Zizek, focusing on psychoanalytic problems of literary and
cultural studies.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.581T2
Seminar in Comparative Literary Studies
For 1998-99, the topic is: Narrative
Style and Intertextuality in Twentieth-Century Novels. Styles of
“Vergangenheitsbewältigung” and
“Selbstrepräsentation” in modern German historical
novels: Thomas Mann, Doktor Faustus, Günter Grass, Hundejahre,
Christa Wolf, Kindheitsmuster. Historical dimensions and
genres of intertexts. (Also listed as German 22.544T2.)
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.582F1 or
W1
Seminar in Comparative Literature
For 1998-99, the topic is: Symbolism in
Literary Analysis. The presuppositions of major symbolic systems
(allegory, typology, emblematics) and their use in producing
texts. Possibilities for and constraints upon symbolic
interpretation, with the focus on Jung, Auerbach, Frye and
Curtius, and some of their respective adherents.
Comparative Literary Studies
17.593F2,W2,S2
Comprehensives
Comparative Literary Studies 17.595F3,
W3
Study Abroad
Under the terms of the accord with
l’Université de Picardie in France, Università di Bari in
Italy, Universität Leipzig in Germany, and Universidad
Ibero-americana and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in
Mexico, Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina, students may do
a part of their work for the M.A. in Comparative Literary Studies
in France, Italy, Argentina, Germany, or Mexico. The content of
the study will be decided by Comparative Literary Studies at
Carleton. Only students sponsored by Comparative Literary Studies
under the exchange may take this course.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.597F1,
W1, S1
Directed Special Studies
From time to time, students whose main
interests are not covered by courses offered in a given year may
pursue independent research, subject to the availability of a
qualified adviser and relevant library resources at Carleton.
Interested students should apply directly to the supervisor of
graduate studies.
Precludes additional credit for Comparative Literary Studies
17.598.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.599F4,
W4, S4
M.A. Thesis
Comparative Literary Studies 17.601F1
Doctoral Seminar I: Literature and Other
Discourses
For 1998-99, the topic is: Dramaturgical
Models in Literary Studies and the Social Sciences. Models,
metaphors, and theory. The nature and function of dramaturgical
models as they have circulated in literary studies and in such
social sciences as anthropology and sociology. Works by Kenneth
Burke, Clifford Geertz, Ervin Goffman, G.H. Mead, Luigi
Pirandello, Richard Schechner, and Victor Turner.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.602F1 or
W1
Doctoral Seminar II: Literature and
Other Discourses
For 1998-99, the topic is: Agency in
Literature and Other Discourses. The notion of agency in literary
and other discourses (primarily anthropology and philosophy).
Agency and humanism. Modern and postmodern debates on the notion.
Among authors to be studied: Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Vico, Freud,
Sapir, Beckett, Habermas, Foucault, Ricoeur, Archer.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.603F1 or
W1
Modernism
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.604F1
Postmodernism
For 1998-99, the topic is: Post-Theory:
Questions of Alterity and Identity. The new thinking regarding
the relationship between former colonies and their former
masters. Feminism and ethnicity.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.610W1
Narrative and Non-Fiction
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.620F1 or
W1
Literary History
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.625F1 or
W1
Hermeneutics and Aesthetic Experiences
of Literature
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.630F1
Text Theory
For 1998-99, the topic is: English,
French and German Literary Interfaces of Modern Urban Culture.
Historical and theoretical perspectives on the idea of modernity;
its textual manifestations and contextual references with a
critical focus on the hypertextual, multimedia-assisted
exploration of modernism.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.635F1 or
W1
Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.640F1 or
W1
Gender and Literature
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.650F1
Rhetoric and Literature
For 1998-99, the topic is: Discourse
Analysis II Renaissance and Modern Rhetoric. Twentieth century
renewal of critical interest in classical theories of discourse.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.655W1
Iconicity and Medieval and Early
Renaissance Literature
For 1998-99 the topic is: Texts and
Images from Antiquity to the Renaissance. The relationship
between texts and images in the Western Tradition: Theoretical
perspectives and historical survey. The “sister arts”
in ancient rhetoric; memory and imagery. Case studies: from the
pagan gods of Antiquity to Renaissance emblemata. The Canon vs.
“Popular Culture”.
Prerequisite: Permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.660W1
Sign, Language and Society
For 1998-99, the topic is: Sign, Theory,
and the Interpretive Practice: A Multi-Media Seminar. This course
explores different approaches to the relationship between signs
and language, culture and social structure, with an emphasis on
the contributions of anthropology. Scripts taken from different
sources (myths, folk narrative, rituals, the scriptures, modern
literature) and from different social and cultural contexts are
examined with a view to illustrating various modes of
interpretation and conflicting views on the nature and functions
of signs in society.
Prerequisite: permission of Comparative Literary Studies.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.683W1
Seminar in Comparative Literary Studies
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.684F1 or
W1
Seminar in Comparative Literary Studies
Topic varies from year to year. Students
should consult Comparative Literary Studies regarding the topic
offered.
Comparative Literary Studies
17.693F2,W2,S2
Comprehensives
Comparative Literary Studies 17.695F3,W3
Study Abroad
Under the terms of the exchange
agreements with the University of Picardie, the University of
Bari, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Universität Leipzig,
Universidad Iberoamericana, and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
México, students may do part of their work for the Ph.D. in
Comparative Literary Studies in France, Italy, Argentina,
Germany, or Mexico. The content and nature of the course involved
will be decided by Comparative Literary Studies. Only students
sponsored by Comparative Literary Studies under the exchange may
take this course.
Comparative Literary Studies 17.699F,W,S
Ph.D. Thesis
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