Gregory B. Stone, Director

An Overview

Comparative Literature at Louisiana State University is an interdisciplinary program that encourages students to approach literary studies from multiple perspectives. The M.A. and Ph.D. programs are built around a core curriculum grounded in the history of literary criticism and theory. With the guidance of faculty, students develop their own degree plans and research agendas, meant to combine the study of literature, literary theory, language, philosophy, art, history, and other cultural phenomena in exciting, fruitful, and innovative ways.

Strengths

As an interdepartmental program. Comparative Literature draws upon the strengths of its affiliated departments:

The Department of English boasts a celebrated literary history extending back to the 1930s and the founding of the Southern Review by Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brooks. Today the department is home to a distinguished faculty that includes many nationally-recognized critics, scholars, and creative writers.

The Department of French Studies has long been acknowledged as one of the premier programs in the country. The most recent National Research Council assessment (1995) ranked the LSU French program among the best in the nation in terms of instructional excellence and faculty strength. The program's work reflects the historical importance of Francophone languages and cultures for Louisiana, as well as the leadership provided by French studies in the European intellectual tradition.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures , with graduate faculty in German, Greek, Latin, Italian, and Spanish, represents a broad spectrum of research interests, from classical antiquity to contemporary Latin American literature. It has also established a Resource Center for Languages, Literatures, and Cultures through the acquisition of videos, films, and printed materials.

Other LSU departments contributing members to the Program in Comparative Literature include Music, Art History, Philosophy and Religious Studies, and History. In addition, several Comparative Literature faculty participate in the Program in Women's and Gender Studies.

In 1999 the English and French Studies departments were selected as two of the twelve strongest LSU departments; these departments have been earmarked for special enhancement. Major institutional resources are now being shifted to these departments to build academic excellence at levels that will be nationally and internationally competitive. The Program in Comparative Literature is proud that two of its affiliated departments were selected for enhancement from among so many strong programs at LSU.