The undergraduate program in Comparative Literature at Harvard prepares students to play an active and creative role in today’s globalized world by exploring literature and culture across languages, and investigating the intersections among literatures, cultures, media, and disciplines. There are multiple ways of intersecting with the department: You can concentrate (or joint concentrate) in Comp Lit; you can undertake a secondary field in the department; or you can pursue a secondary field in Translation Studies, which is housed within Comp Lit.

There are several ways for prospective concentrators to discover what life in Comparative Literature is all about:

• Check in with one of our concentration peer advisors for the inside scoop on concentrating in Comp Lit at any time. They are happy to meet with you.
• Sign up for a conversation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Sandra Naddaff.
• Check out the Prospective Concentrators page on our website for our full list of Fall events.
• Fill out the “Declaring Comp Lit” form by November 12.

Reflecting the ongoing paradigm shift of comparative studies from an almost exclusive focus on Western European traditions to a newly global awareness, our faculty ranks have expanded in recent years to encompass a world-wide range of languages and cultures, even as we pursue new approaches to an expanded range of European literatures themselves.
Read More.

It’s Your Turn to (Re)Write the Story

Lara Norgaard, incoming PhD student, argues that experimental fiction can democratize storytelling in this recent article published by Public Books.
 

"The Identity Problem" in Prenatal Testing

This essay by PhD Candidate Nina Begus won an Award in Reproductive Ethics from the journal Voices in Bioethics.
 

History Lessons

Reviewing the history of migration through a different lens with Argyro Nicolaou (PhD '18).
 

Resisting the Rhetoric of Disaster

Daniel Behar's (PhD '19) recent article in Public Books.
 

A World of Literature

David Damrosch’s literary global reach.
 

Reframing cultures

Mahnoor Ali (BA '19) adds new colors and critiques in her exploration of literature and art.