Comparative Literature Minor

The Comparative Literature minor invites students to investigate the intersections of languages, cultures, and methodologies. This is a highly interdisciplinary field that is known for crossing boundaries; it is trans-national, trans-medial, and trans-cultural. While students study literature in its conventional forms (fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry, and drama), they also are encouraged to explore its intersections with other forms, such as visual and digital media. Students in the minor have the freedom to pursue connections they find between different aesthetic forms, cultural traditions, and ideas. This could mean, for example, tracing an ethical problem across national or linguistic borders, studying filmic adaptations of literary texts, or examining places where disciplines intersect. This is a field that trains students to apprehend the world as interconnected and dynamic and equips them to thrive in it.

CML minors take courses from at least three different academic departments, selecting from a slate of approved courses in English; Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies; Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Philosophy; Religion; and Scandinavian Studies. Students are urged to work closely with a faculty advisor to develop an individualized course of study. CML minors are warmly encouraged (but not required) to achieve proficiency in a non-English language, either by studying it at Gustavus (where Ancient Greek, French, Japanese, Latin, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish are offered through at least the intermediate level) and/or through study away or self-study. College-level courses in a non-English language above the introductory level may be included among the electives required for the CML minor. Along with developing skills in close reading, critical thinking, and effective communication, the study of Comparative Literature helps students achieve the intercultural competency and innovative approaches to problem-solving that are so badly needed in today’s world. The minor will strengthen applications to graduate school in many disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. It also prepares students for an abundance of careers; for example: publishing, law, journalism, diplomacy, NGO work, international business, and education, to name just a few.