Education

Harvard University: Arts & Sciences: Comparative Literature

Category Art and Social Sciences, Doctoral, English Literature, Harvard University, USA
Tags Arts, Comparative, Harvard University, Literature, Sciences

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Courses
The number of required courses for the PhD in comparative literature is 16, of which only two may be reading courses; at least 14 are to be letter-graded courses (i.e., not reading courses). Candidates are required to have at least as many 200-level courses as 100-level courses, and only in rare exceptions will courses below the 100-level be allowed to count toward the degree. Candidates may arrange to produce extra work, often in the form of longer papers, so as to receive from the department 200-level credit for courses that are listed at the 100-level in the Courses of Instruction. Such arrangements should be made early in the term when the course is being taken, because they must be approved by the course instructor and the director of graduate studies or the chair.

Each candidate will normally be expected to balance coursework in the following manner: four courses in the Department of Literature and Comparative Literature; three in a first literature; two in a second literature; and two in a third literature. Other coursework may include relevant courses in any of the above literatures; in another literature; in philosophy, anthropology, religion, linguistics, art, economics, and so forth. Any question regarding the nature of courses taken should be resolved with advisors before submission of study cards. If candidates or advisors have questions, they should pose them to the chair, DGS, or curriculum committee.

Each degree candidate is expected to fulfill the 16-course requirement by including a significant dimension of comparative historical study. This dimension can be met by taking a minimum of three courses with a chronological emphasis or focus different from the candidate’s primary chronological focus. It is important that these three courses be distinctly different from the main period in the candidate’s program. Thus a candidate concentrating upon 20th-century modernism would not be able to fulfill this requirement with three courses in the 19th century, nor would a candidate specializing in neo-classicism be able to claim satisfactory completion on the basis of three courses in the Renaissance.

Many candidates will normally declare a chronological focus. However, candidates may request a focus that covers a genre or field of study if it is followed throughout a very broad historical range, e.g., tragedy or lyric poetry in languages ancient and modern. In addition, all candidates will be welcome to identify a special interest in a particular literary form (such as drama, lyric, narrative, and the like) or a topic of substantial scope in literary theory (poetics, literature in its social context, the relation between literature and one of the other arts, and so forth). Whatever choice the candidate makes, the decision must be communicated to the chair by April 1 during the first year of study.

Languages
Candidates should have knowledge of at least four languages variously related to their course of study and long-term interests. Hence one language may be studied for “instrumental” reasons and at least one must be studied because it stands in a useful “cross-cultural” or “diachronic” relationship to others.

After appropriate consultation with the chair and/or director of graduate studies (DGS), candidates will draw up a list of four or more proposed languages. The list will be submitted to the chair for consideration by the department no later than October 1 of
the first year and voted upon no later than November 1. (The list of proposed languages may be resubmitted at a later date so long as the guidelines are met.)

Language requirements must be finished by the end of the third year (of course, candidates who want to take an AM after the second year must complete language requirements for that degree before the degree can be awarded).

English: If English is presented as one of the four languages, it must have a strong historical component. This requirement may generally be satisfied by two half-courses in English or American literature prior to 1800 or by similar coursework accepted for credit done elsewhere (see above); a course in the history and structure of the English language may be one of these two courses. Medievalists or those whose coursework in English falls prior to 1800 will need to display coursework in later periods of English or American literature. The goal is to have study in the language spread over more than one historical period in its development. Since individual programs vary, students should consult with the chair or DGS in advance regarding fulfillment of the stipulation of a strong historical component.

Instrumental Language: One of the four languages may be “instrumental”—a means for reading criticism, or an access to philological and/or historical issues, or a first step toward eventually studying the literature. Candidates may exercise this option by taking an advanced course or by passing a language exam in reading knowledge administered under the auspices of the department.

The instrumental language is an option that may appeal to candidates who seek in three languages a command that may extend to include speaking, listening, and writing, and in one language reading knowledge only; other candidates may choose to develop full command of all four languages.

Pre-modern or Cross-cultural Language:
One of the four languages must be either -pre-modern (“diachronic”) or cross-cultural. The term “pre-modern” implies that this language stands in a historically foundational
or, in certain cases, diachronic relationship to one of the other languages. Foundational languages would include classical Latin and Greek, biblical Hebrew, classical Arabic and Chinese, and Sanskrit. Normally this language is not simply the “Old” form of a modern
language which is studied in Old, Middle or Medieval, and Modern forms. In the event of uncertainty, candidates and/or their advisors should consult the Curriculum Committee.

The term “cross-cultural” implies that this language is from another linguistico-cultural group than the others. Usually a candidate working primarily on European languages and literatures, and choosing not to study a pre-modern language, would need to study a language such as Chinese or Arabic to meet this requirement.

Normally, English will not count as a cross-cultural language.

Addendum
Candidates whose program of study requires more than the language and related study outlined in previous sections of the regulations, especially those involving coursework, may design in advance appropriate arrangements in consultation with the chair and director of graduate studies.

Grades
Candidates are required, in a given year, to receive more As than Bs and no grade lower than B-. Candidates are not permitted to take an Incomplete in the Pro-Seminar nor may they take more than one Incomplete a term. Any Incomplete must be completed before the end of the term following that in which the course was taken, unless the student is given an earlier deadline by the instructor.

Common Essay
Candidates must take a written, take-home Common Essay examination by the end of the second year. Candidates will be asked to answer one of six general/theoretical questions. As the instructions for this examination will indicate, candidates will be expected to write from a comparative perspective and not respond solely on the basis of one literary tradition.

The Third Year
The third-year requirements in the PhD program in comparative literature will be composed of two parts, a written Reading Check at the beginning of the third year and a Prospectus Conference no later than the end of April of the candidate’s third year. Ideally, the three examiners for the Reading Check will also serve as the three faculty participants in the Prospectus Conference—but this is a recommendation rather than a requirement. Ordinarily, the three faculty participants in the Prospectus Conference will be three readers of the dissertation.

Acceptance of Dissertation Prospectus
After the examination, the prospectus, revised if necessary, will be circulated to all department members. At a department meeting convened by the chair it will be discussed and voted on. Where appropriate, the first reader will communicate any further suggestions for changing the prospectus and the bibliography directly to the candidate.

The Dissertation Conference
At least three-and-one-half months before the degree deadline, dissertation writers should give a substantially complete draft of the dissertation to all members of the committee to read. A date should be set for a meeting at least three months before the deadline for the degree and members of the committee should then meet together with the student to offer substantive recommendations for revision. The dissertation conference should be held in May for a November degree, in October for a March degree, and in February for a June degree.

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Comparative Literature with a Special Program in the Study of Oral Tradition and Literature

Courses
As for the PhD in comparative literature, with the following amendments: The number of required courses for the PhD in comparative literature with a special program in the Study of Oral Tradition and Literature is 16, of which only two may be reading courses; at least 14 are to be letter-graded courses (i.e., not reading courses). Any question regarding the nature of courses taken should be resolved with advisors from the departmental Committee on the Study of Oral Tradition and Literature before submission of study cards. If candidates or members of the departmental Committee have questions, they should pose them to the Curriculum Committee.

Each candidate will normally be expected to balance coursework in the following manner: four courses in the Department of Literature and Comparative Literature or in other departments as deemed appropriate by the departmental Committee on the Study of Oral Tradition and Literature; three in a first literature; two in a second literature; and two in a third literature.

Languages
As for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Comparative Literature. In addition, one of the languages offered as one of the candidate’s three literatures must be represented by (or at least include) a substantial corpus that is independent of written transmission and this is derived from collections of performances recorded under strictly supervised conditions of fieldwork. A major resource for such purposes is the Milman Parry Collection at Harvard University.

Common Essay
As for the PhD in Comparative Literature.

The Third Year
As for the PhD in Comparative Literature.

Acceptance of Dissertation Prospectus
As for the PhD in Comparative Literature.

Please note: Applicants must also submit a writing sample—a paper or scholarly work—in English.