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Widely used in the Renaissance, the term humanities (humanitas or studia humanitatis) refers to the study of human intellectual and artistic creativity. Humanities is both a general academic category (inclusive of literature, history, philosophy, and the history and criticism of art and music) and a discipline in its own right with a methodology for the critical study of intellectual history and aesthetics. The interdisciplinary humanistic fields that the department comprises—humanities, classics, and comparative literature—offer students unusual latitude in pursuing graduate education in the humanities, disciplined by insistence on substantial foreign language skills, competence in critical theory and practice, and the development of scholarly discipline.
The Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature offers an MA in Comparative Studies. This program admits ten to twelve students per year. The MA in Comparative Studies is designed as a two-year program, and most full-time students are able to complete the MA within two years, usually defending the thesis during spring or summer term of the second year.
This degree allows for study of the humanities within a comparative context; that is, through interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives that permit a flexibility and breadth of study, without sacrificing rigor, not normally found in single-discipline graduate programs. Graduate students thus learn to combine the synthesizing and analytical skills of various humanistic disciplines in order to develop interdisciplinary and comparative approaches to the materials of human culture. Accordingly, program courses expand knowledge in humanistic disciplines and provide intense opportunities to develop wide-ranging research and writing.
The success of a program is judged most immediately by two things: (1) the teaching and scholarship of the faculty, as measured by student and faculty reviews of teaching, and by scholarly placement, productivity, and peer reviews; and (2) by the success of the students during the program and as a result of it, this latter for example through placement in doctoral programs and winning graduate fellowships. Success during the program is measured by the degree of excellence attained in fulfilling the program's curriculum.
For requirements, see "Requirements for Degree" below.
Applicants for admission to the program in Comparative Studies should be aware that a writing sample is required in addition to other requirements set by the Graduate School, where the website should be consulted under "Programs" for further information on the Comparative Studies M.A. Applicants are welcome to discuss with faculty members (especially those familiar with their work or with whom they wish to study) the preparation of their application, in particular the statement of intent and the choice and revision of the writing sample.
Special Note: There is one period for enrolment in the M.A. program in Comparative Studies, September of each year; deadline for application is March 1 previous. Some students may wish to request that transfer, senior, and nondegree credit be applied toward the M.A. degree according to the criteria set down for such PBS credit as defined in the BYU Graduate Catalog. This request will be reviewed, and approved or rejected, by the graduate council of the department. However, students intending this course of action are strongly cautioned that to pursue PBS credit before admission to the M.A. program in no way favors their application for admission to the program; that, therefore, there is risk that, admission not being granted, expense and time will have gone for nothing. Students determined to incur this risk should submit a statement explaining their determination; if the statement indicates a practical and prudent intention, the graduate coordinator, in consultation with the graduate council, will appoint for the student a preliminary advisor.
Aid is available in the form of full or partial tuition grants, teaching assistantships, internships, and (for advanced students) some student instructorships. Upon admission to the respective programs, candidates will be considered for all of these possibilities based upon merit and availability of department resources. Financial aid is limited to two years.
The Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature utilizes the Humanities Research Center and the Reading-Writing Center for the College of Humanities:
The Humanities Research Center provides an array of technological tools, resources, and expertise to foster quality research and scholarship in the College of Humanities. The center is especially active in the production of teaching and research materials. In addition to computer and audio equipment, the center has a variety of video capabilities and in the past few years has become a world leader in computer-assisted language instruction and translation. The department also owns CD ROM databases for classical Greek and Latin texts, the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae and Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, as well as the complete works of many modern authors.
Faculty from the department currently serve as officers of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS), the International Comparative Literature Association (ICLA), the National Association of Humanities Educators (NAHE), the American Conference on Romanticism, and the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study (SASS). In addition, the journals Scandinavian Studies and Prisms: Essays in Romanticism are edited by department faculty members, assisted by graduate students from the department.
690R. Seminar in Classics. (3)
699R. Master's Thesis. (1-9)
590R. Directed Readings. (1-3)
Prerequisite: graduate coordinator's consent.
610. Methods of Study in Comparative Literature. (3)
Introduction to critical study of literature: critical methods and bibliography; linguistic foundations of literature; textual scholarship; literary history, transmission, theory, and criticism; genre theory; literature and other disciplines.
620R. Studies in Periods and Movements. (3)
Prerequisite: CMLit 610 or concurrent registration.
Various literary periods, movements, etc., and problems of periodization. Topics vary.
630R. Studies in Literary Genres. (3)
Prerequisite: CMLit 610 or concurrent registration.
Various genres (e.g. novel, epic, tragedy, lyric) and problems of genre. Topics vary.
640R. Studies in Themes and Types. (3)
Prerequisite: CMLit 610 or concurrent registration.
Major literary themes (e.g. Faust, Don Juan, Ulysses, Arthur), types, motifs, and problems of literary typology. Topics vary.
650R. Studies in Literary Relations. (3)
Prerequisite: CMLit 610 or concurrent registration.
Interrelations of national literatures and figures and of literature with other areas of knowledge (art, history, law, psychology, music, etc.). Topics vary.
660R. Studies in Literary Theory. (3)
Prerequisite: CMLit 610 or concurrent registration.
Critical theories of literature and literary analysis. Topics vary.
670R. Tutorial Internship. (3)
Prerequisite: graduate coordinator's consent.
Individual research in cooperation with graduate faculty member, generally on problems relating to a specific national literature.
690R. Seminar in Comparative Literature. (3)
Prerequisite: CMLit 610.
Problems in comparative literature. Course content varies from semester to semester.
699R. Master's Thesis. (1-9)
Prerequisite: graduate coordinator's consent.
610. Introduction to Contemporary Critical Thinking. (3)
Prerequisites: CmLit 310, Hum 350, Clscs 420 or equivalents.
Broad interdisciplinary perspective on contemporary literary and aesthetic theory and critical methods as these relate to the study of literature and the arts.
615. Colloquium in Comparative Studies. (3)
Prerequisites: CmpSt 610.
Introduction to a variety of critical methods through presentations of work in progress by graduate and visiting faculty. Topics vary.
620R. Studies in Periods and Movements. (3)
Prerequisite: CmpSt 610.
Literature, philosophy and/or the arts of a particular period or movement in cultural history. Problems of periodization. Topics vary.
625R. Area Studies. (3)
Prerequisite: CmpSt 610.
Study of literature, philosophy, and/or the arts of a particular geographical area. Topics vary.
630R. Studies in Genres and Forms. (3)
Prerequisite: CmpSt 610.
Varied topics include epic, tragedy, comedy, narrative, historiography, and film.
640R. Studies in Themes and Types. (3)
Prerequisite: Cmp St 610.
Varied topics include Eden, Arthur, Don Juan, Faust, Don Quixote, Ulysses, Troy.
650R. Interrelations of the Arts. (3)
Prerequisite: CmpSt 610.
Interrelations between various art forms, especially literature and one other (literature and art, literature and film, literature and music, etc.). Topics vary.
660R. Critical Theory and Methods. (3)
Prerequisite: CmpSt 610.
Theoretical and practical criticism; problems in critical theory. Varied topics include aesthetics, cultural theory, aspects of contemporary theory.
670R. Studies in the Classical Tradition. (3)
Prerequisite: CmpSt 610.
Studies in the cultures of classical antiquity and their influence on later cultural history. Topics vary.
699R. Master's Thesis. (1-9)
Prerequisite: graduate coordinator's consent.
Graduate-level Greek courses are currently being developed. Please see the department for details.
595R. Directed Readings. (1-3)
Prerequisite: graduate coordinator's consent.
610. Research Methods in Humanities. (2)
Prerequisite: instructor's consent.
Use of the library and secondary sources.
615. Writing the Thesis Prospectus. (1)
Prerequisite: Hum 610.
Design and development of MA thesis prospectus.
620R. Studies in Periods and Movements. (3)
Interdisciplinary study of literature, philosophy, and the arts of a particular period of movement in cultural history. Problems of periodization. Topics vary.
625R. Area Studies in the Humanities. (3)
Interdisciplinary study of literature, philosophy, and the arts of a particular geographical area. Topics include American, Latin American, and Asian humanities. Topics vary.
630R. Genres and Forms in the Humanities. (3)
Interdisciplinary study of genres and forms. Topics include epic, tragedy, narrative, historiography, film, relationship of text and music. Topics vary.
640R. Themes in the Humanities. (3)
Prerequisite: Interdisciplinary study of themes. Varied topics include Eden, Arthur, Don Juan, Faust, Don Quixote, Ulysses, Troy.
660R. Critical Theory and Methodology. (3)
Theoretical and practical criticism; problems in critical theory. Topics include aesthetics, interrelations of the arts, cultural theory, aspects of contemporary theory, and models of cultural history.
690R. Seminar in the Humanities. (3)
Interdisciplinary study of problems and major figures in the humanities. Topics vary.
699R. Master's Thesis. (1-9)
Prerequisite: graduate coordinator's consent.
620R. Latin Poets. (3)
625R. Latin Prose Writers. (3)
640R. Studies in Genre. (3)
650R. Period Studies. (3)
690R. Seminar in Latin. (3)
| Benfell, V. Stanley. |
Associate Professor. PhD New York University, 1994. Comparative Literature: Medieval and Renaissance Literature (Italian, French, and English). |
Burns, Mark K. |
Assistant Professor. PhD Harvard University, 2003. Humanities: Nineteenth-Century American Literature; Colonial Latin American Literature; African Literature; Cultural Theory. |
| Call, Michael J. |
Professor. PhD Stanford University, 1982. Humanities: Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century French Culture; Romanticism. |
| Christenson, Allen J. |
Assistant Professor. PhD University of Texas, Austin, 1998. Humanities: American (Colonial and Federalist), Native American, and Mesoamerican (especially Precolumbian) Culture. |
| Duckwitz, Norbert H. O. |
Assistant Professor. PhD University of Colorado, 1987. Classics: Latin Poetry; Greek and Roman Mythology. |
| Hall, John F. |
Professor. PhD University of Pennsylvania, 1984. Classics: Roman History, Religion, and Law; Latin Literature. |
| Handley, George B. |
Professor. PhD University of California, Berkeley, 1995. Humanities: Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century American, Caribbean, and Latin American Culture; Ethnic Arts; Cultural Theory. |
| Kramer, T. Nathaniel. | Assistant Professor. PhD University of California, Los Angeles, 2004. Humanities: Twentieth-Century Literature; Scandinavian Studies; European Modernism; Literary Theory. |
| Lounsbury, Richard C. |
Professor. PhD University of Texas, Austin, 1979. Classics and Comparative Literature: Early Imperial Literature; Rhetoric; Classical Tradition. |
| Macfarlane, Roger T. |
Associate Professor. PhD University of Michigan, 1991. Classics: Republican and Augustan Latin Literature. |
| Parry, Joseph D. |
Associate Professor. PhD University of Utah, 1995. Humanities: Medieval and Renaissance Studies (especially English, German, Italian). |
| Peek, Cecilia M. | Assistant Professor. PhD University of California, Berkeley, 2000. Classics: Hellenistic History; Roman Imperial History; Greek and Latin Literature |
| Peer, Larry H. |
Professor. PhD University of Maryland, College Park, 1969. Comparative Literature: Romanticism; Theory. |
| Sederholm, Carl H. | Assistant Professor. PhD University of Utah, 2002. Humanities: Early and Nineteenth-Century American Culture; American Gothic. |
| Shumway, Larry V. |
Professor. PhD University of Washington, 1974. Humanities: Music; Asian Humanities; Ethnomusicology. |
| Sondrup, Steven P. |
Professor. PhD Harvard University, 1974. Comparative Literature: Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Literature. |
| Soper, Kerry D. |
Assistant Professor. PhD Emory University, 1998. Humanities: American Social and Cultural History; Popular Visual Arts; Satire. |
| Sowell, Debra H. | Assistant Professor. PhD New York University, 1990. Humanities: Performance Studies; Dance History and Criticism; European Romanticism. |
| Stanford, Charlotte A. | Assistant Professor. PhD Pennsylvania State University, 2003. Humanities: Medieval Studies; Art History; Gothic Architecture; Gothic Revival. |
| Tate, George S. |
Professor. PhD Cornell University, 1974. Humanities and Comparative Literature: Medieval Studies (Scandinavian, German, English; Twelfth-Century Renaissance). |
| Tueller, Michael A. | Assistant Professor. PhD Harvard University, 2003. Classics: Greek Poetry; Hellenistic Literature; Greek Religion. |
Applications are available here.
Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Richard Lounsbury
(801) 422-7427
comparativestudies@byu.edu
For more information on graduate studies at BYU, visit the Office of Graduate Studies.