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Literature
Kresge College
(831) 459-4778
http://humwww.ucsc.edu/Lit/index.html
Program Description
| Faculty | Course
Descriptions
The study of literature at UC Santa Cruz is organized as an interdisciplinary
field coordinated through a single Department of Literature, rather
than through separate departments of English, French, Spanish, and
so forth. This structure fosters innovative and comparative approaches
to literature among both faculty and students. Courses in the major
encompass traditional literary history and interpretation as well
as cross-cultural inquiry and current theoretical debates.
The literature major does permit focused work in national literary
traditions. Students may concentrate in English-language literatures;
in French, German, or Italian; in Latin and/or Greek; or in Spanish/Latin
American/Latino literatures. Alternatively, students may organize
their studies by period. Students who choose pre- and early modern
studies focus on early literary traditions from antiquity through
the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the neo-classical period,
while those engaged in modern literary studies concentrate on literature
of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. Finally,
the world literature and cultural studies concentration is dedicated
to non-Western literatures and literature in a global context. The
Literature Department also offers a concentration in creative writing
in which, in addition to studying literature, students work with
faculty in upper-division workshops to improve their own creative
writing skills.
Literature majors at UC Santa Cruz are trained in critical reading,
writing, and thinking, as well as in literary interpretation. These
skills have wide applicability: they may lead to careers in other
media such as film, theater, video, the visual arts, and electronic
media; and they offer avenues into related disciplines such as history,
philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, politics, and history
of art and visual culture. Literature majors traditionally enter
a wide variety of careers ranging from law and journalism to management,
government, international studies, publishing, technical writing,
and teaching at all levels.
The Literature Department faculty strongly recommends that all
students study a second language. Proficiency in more than one language
vastly enhances understanding of any literature and of language
arts in general. Graduate programs in literature and other humanities
disciplines generally require competence in another language besides
English.
Letter grades are required for 75 percent of courses applied toward
the literature majors, including the Senior Seminar, which
must be taken for a letter grade.
Students wishing to major in literature may choose either the standard
literature major or the intensive literature major. The intensive
literature major is recommended particularly for students who plan
to continue their studies in graduate school. The requirements for
the intensive major include the study of literature in two languages;
proficiency in a second language is therefore required.
The Standard Literature Major
Thirteen courses are required: three lower-division and ten upper-division
courses. One of the latter may be a Senior Seminar, which
may be used to satisfy the campus comprehensive (exit) requirement.
In exceptional cases, and with faculty permission, students may
write a senior thesis to satisfy the exit requirement.
Students must successfully complete Literature 1, Literary
Interpretation, or its equivalent prior to declaring the literature
major or minor.
Lower-Division Courses
Lower-division courses are designed as introductions to critical
reading and writing. Students should complete their lower-division
course work before beginning upper-division work.
Three lower-division courses are
required:
Literature 1, Literary Interpretation: close reading
and analysis of literary texts
one Literature 61-series course: categories, methodologies, and
problems of literary study
one Literature 80-series course: topical, thematic, and comparative
study of literary texts
Upper-Division Courses
Upper-division courses provide more detailed treatment of literary
and theoretical problems, themes, and periods. Students are strongly
encouraged to take courses across chronological periods and national
boundaries.
Ten upper-division courses are
required:
Literature 101, Theory and Interpretation: approaches to
literary and cultural theories
six upper-division courses in an area of concentration (described
below)
three upper-division electives in literature
Distribution requirements.
Among the 10 upper-division courses, at least two must focus on
literature written prior to the year 1750; one course must focus
on non-Western literature or literature in a global perspective;
and one must focus on poetry. Some courses fulfill more than one
of these distribution requirements. A list of annual course offerings
indicating distribution codes for each course is available in
the department office or on the Literature Department web page.
With prior permission from a faculty adviser, one elective may
be replaced by an upper-division course related to the student’s
area of concentration and chosen from another program in the humanities,
arts, or social sciences.
The Intensive Literature Major
Fifteen courses are required: three lower-division and 12 upper-division
courses. One of the upper-division courses may be a Senior
Seminar, which may be used to satisfy the campus comprehensive
(exit) requirement.
Lower-Division Courses
The same requirements apply as for the standard literature major.
Students who choose the intensive literature major are required
to achieve competence in a second- language literature. Upper-division
literature course work may require completion of a lower-division
language sequence or the equivalent.
Upper-Division Courses
The intensive major requires 12 upper-division courses. Distribution
requirements for the intensive major are the same as those for
the standard literature major. In addition, students must complete
at least two courses in a second-language literature studied in
the original language. As in the standard major, with prior permission
from a faculty adviser, one elective may be replaced by an upper-division
course related to the student’s area of concentration and chosen
from another program in the humanities, arts, or social sciences.
The comprehensive requirement must be satisfied by the completion
of a senior seminar or a senior thesis.
The purpose of the upper-division area of concentration is
to help students shape a coherent program of study. The department
provides several defined concentrations, described below. For
all concentrations except national/ transnational literatures,
texts may be read in the original or in translation.
National/Transnational Literatures
These concentrations examine literature within the frameworks
of particular languages or national and regional traditions. For
all concentrations, except national/transnational literatures,
texts may be read either in the original or in translation. National/transnational
concentrations require that text be read in the original language.
English-Language
Literatures
The study of American and British literature, as well as literatures
of other English-speaking peoples around the world.
French literature
The study of French and Francophone literatures, languages, and
cultural practices of France, Africa, and the Caribbean.
German literature
The study of the literature, language, and cultural practices
of the German-speaking areas of central Europe including Germany,
Austria, and Switzerland.
Greek and Latin literatures
The study of the literature, languages, and cultural practices
of ancient Greece and Rome. Students may choose to concentrate in
Greek or Latin or both.
Italian literature
The study of Italian literature, language, and cultural practices
from the Middle Ages to the present.
Spanish/Latin
American/Latino literatures
The study of literatures, language, and cultural practices
of Spain, Latin America, and Latino populations in the United States.
Creative Writing
The Department of Literature offers a sequence of workshops in
creative writing, from beginning through advanced levels, in both
poetry and fiction. Other activities available to interested students
include participation in the production of literary journals on
campus, attendance at readings by visiting writers, and use of
a creative writing reading room.
Admission to this concentration is selective. Interested students
are required to take one lower-division workshop at UC Santa Cruz
before applying to the creative writing concentration.
Students accepted into the concentration must complete three
advanced writing workshops and a senior project (e.g., a group
of stories, a significant portion of a novel, a collection of
poems). To apply for admission to the creative writing concentration,
students should submit a completed application form (available
at the Literature Department Office) and a thoughtful selection
from their work (8–10 pages of poetry or 10–20 pages of fiction,
comprising at least two stories). Once accepted into the concentration,
students are required to declare (or redeclare) the major in literature.
At that time, students should meet with their adviser to discuss
plans for a senior project.
Pre- and Early
Modern Studies
The interdisciplinary study of literatures and cultures from antiquity
through the early eighteenth century, especially in Europe. This
concentration includes the study of popular culture and everyday
life as well as readings in masterpieces of classical, medieval,
early modern (Renaissance), and neo-classical literature.
Modern Literary Studies
The study of literature of the eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth,
and twenty-first centuries. This concentration examines ways in
which modernity in general and literary modernism and postmodernism
in particular emerge and develop in different countries and cultures.
World Literature and Cultural Studies
The study of literature and cultural production both within a
global context and within specific histories and economies. Courses
move beyond the literary text to include nonverbal forms of representation
such as social movements and everyday life practices.
Seniors may select one of the following options to satisfy the
campus exit requirement:
Senior seminar. The senior
seminar may be counted as one of the required upper-division courses.
The senior seminar need not be in the student’s area of concentration.
Several senior seminars are offered each quarter; extensive writing
is required in all seminars.
Senior thesis. A student who
wishes to propose a senior thesis (30–40 pages) must apply to a
Literature Department faculty sponsor at least two quarters before
the projected date of graduation. The application must include a
proposed subject, a brief outline, a bibliography, and a sample
of previous written work. Only those students who have received
written permission from a faculty supervisor may complete a thesis
to satisfy the senior exit requirement. A student whose application
has been approved may receive course credit toward the major for
one independent study (course 195) in a literature concentration.
For students in the creative writing concentration, a creative
writing project under the supervision of a faculty member (Literature/Creative
Writing 194 or 195) is required. Students must successfully complete
Literature 101 before taking any comprehensive requirement.
Creative writing courses. Any
qualified student may take creative writing courses for credit
toward graduation. Only students accepted into the creative writing
concentration, however, may use Literature/Creative Writing 180,
183, 191, 194, and 195 to satisfy major requirements.
Declaring the major. Students
declare a major in literature by completing and submitting a Proposed
Study Plan and Declaration of Major/Minor petition. All students
considering a literature major should consult with staff and/or
faculty advisers as early as possible and declare the major before
the end of their sophomore year. Transfer students are urged to
declare the major in the first quarter at UCSC. Students must
complete Literature 1 or its equivalent prior to declaring the
major.
Double major. A student
studying literature as part of a double major must fulfill all
of the requirements for any concentration in the literature major
in addition to all of the requirements in another major field.
No course may be counted toward both majors.
The literature minor. The
minor in literature comprises eight courses:
three lower-division required courses (including Literature 1
or its equivalent; see major requirements above);
Literature 101, Theory and Interpretation;
four other upper-division literature courses.
Transfer credit. A student
may petition to receive credit toward the lower-division requirements
of the major for up to three courses taken at other institutions.
An introduction to literature course may be used to satisfy the
Literature 1 course requirement. Any other two literature courses
may be applied toward the Literature 61 series and the Literature
80 series course requirements. Transfer of Credit petition forms
are available in the Literature Department Office.
Credit for repeated courses.
Courses that vary significantly in material or methodology from
one presentation to the next may be repeated for credit and are
so designated in the course description in the UCSC General
Catalog.
Advising. Faculty advisers
are available in the Literature Department Office throughout the
week during each academic term; students may make appointments
in advance to meet with them. Staff advisers are also available
on a drop-in basis. Students are encouraged to consult with a
faculty adviser once a quarter.
Senior checklist. Three
quarters before anticipated graduation, all literature majors
must complete a checklist in collaboration with a department adviser.
The purpose of the checklist is to confirm progress toward graduation
and the satisfaction of all major requirements. Completion and
approval of a senior checklist are required for graduation.
Opportunities for study abroad.
The University of California’s Education Abroad Program (EAP)
operates study centers in countries throughout the world, all
associated with host institutions of high academic standing. EAP
serves over 1500 upper-division students from the nine UC campuses
every year. Students who participate in a UC Education Abroad
Program study year may petition to apply up to three courses from
EAP toward the literature major. Petition forms are available
in the department office.
The Doctoral Program
The UC Santa Cruz doctoral program offers an innovative multidisciplinary
approach to literary studies under the auspices of the Department
of Literature. While the program affords a coherent academic experience
for all students, the final choice of programmatic emphasis and
a trajectory of concerns is decided by each individual. Because
the program is relatively small, students are able to work closely
with faculty throughout their graduate careers and are encouraged
to take advantage of the rich array of events, research clusters,
and lectures offered on campus.
The doctoral program reflects wide-ranging faculty interests
in American, Asia/Pacific, and New World studies; world literature
and cultural studies; European literature from the classical to
the early modern period (pre- and early modern studies); eighteenth-,
nineteenth-, and twentieth-century literatures; gender and sexuality
studies; post-colonial and emergent literatures; and textual studies.
Students may elect to participate in cooperative programs between
literature and women’s studies, Latin American and Latino studies,
or American studies and receive a designated emphasis on their
doctoral degree.
Among the areas that represent special strength in the department
are contemporary American literature and poetics; Latin American/Latino
literature; literatures of the Americas, a cross-border hemispheric
perspective that envisions the Americas as an area of study; world
literature and cultural studies, which treats literary, intellectual,
and cultural production in globally historicized contexts; nineteenth-century
studies; and pre- and early modern studies, where comparative
and interdisciplinary work is encouraged and which includes classical
literature and philosophy, medieval and Renaissance French, Italian,
and English cultures and literatures (including visual culture),
and Spanish Golden Age literature. Within all areas, faculty draw
on cutting-edge critical practices such as feminism, race and
gender studies, Marxism, postcolonial theory, psychoanalysis,
queer theory, and cultural studies.
The program requires significant literary work in two languages.
All students are required to complete a minimum of two courses,
preferably three, in a second-
language literature in which the reading is done in the original
language. The second literature must serve as a component of the
qualifying exam that certifies the student’s readiness to begin
writing the dissertation. Primary concentrations are available
in English/American, French, and Spanish/Latin American/Latino
literatures. Secondary concentrations are available in all of
the above, plus German, Italian, Latin, and Greek, as well as
other non-English literatures relevant to developing comparative
frameworks and individual areas of concentration.
The common requirements are as
follows:
a one-quarter proseminar, Literature 200, to be taken in
the first year;
quarterly two-credit advising courses (independent studies);
twelve courses leading to the definition of an area of concentration.
At least two courses must be in a second-language literature;
up to four may be from the offerings of other departments; up
to three may be independent study courses; and one course must
focus on pre-1750 literature and culture;
teaching assistant training, administered as a course offered
by the Literature Department;
three quarters of supervised teaching experience;
a three-week summer intensive language course or equivalent, administered
by the Literature Department;
a qualifying examination (with written and oral components);
a prospectus outlining and defining the dissertation project;
a dissertation.
A master’s degree is conferred upon request to Ph.D. candidates
who have completed the course work requirements for the doctorate.
(The teaching assistant training and supervised teaching experience
are not considered part of the course work requirements for the
M.A.) In addition to completing the required course work, students
must write a master’s thesis under the supervision of a faculty
adviser or successfully complete the Literature Ph.D. Qualifying
Exam.
More detailed information for prospective graduate students,
including application and admission to graduate studies, examinations,
and requirements for the doctor of philosophy degree, is available
from the Division of Graduate Studies and on the department web
site: http://humwww.ucsc.edu/lit/.
Graduate students in literature may obtain a parenthetical notation
on their diploma that they have specialized in women’s studies,
Latin American and Latino studies, and/or American studies. Applications
and requirements for obtaining these notations are available at
the respective program and department offices.
The Master’s Program
A separate master of arts degree program in literature is intended
for students whose aim is to deepen and expand their literary/critical
training and to proceed to a Ph.D. program at another institution.
Priority for admission is given to students interested in underrepresented
areas of study within the Literature Department’s offerings, such
as the non-English language literatures and, more broadly, critical
theory.
The M.A. program requires students to complete the equivalent
of nine seminars of graduate-level study in literature, including
a written capstone requirement, the master’s thesis. Requirements
may not be completed in less than one year; the maximum time to
obtain a degree is two years.
The common requirements are as
follows:
a one-quarter proseminar, Literature 200, to be taken in the first
year;
seven courses leading to the definition of an area of concentration.
Up to two courses may be from the offerings of other departments,
and one may be an independent study course;
a thesis (written in conjunction with Literature 299, Thesis
Research). Typically, a thesis will range in length from 30–35
pages, plus a bibliography.
The Literature Department does not normally provide financial
support to students pursuing the M.A. degree; some teaching assistantships
do become available. Admission to the M.A. program does not constitute
admission to the Ph.D. program, and students may not automatically
transfer into the Ph.D. program from the M.A. program; they must
reapply. Further information and application materials are available
from the Division of Graduate Studies: http://graddiv.ucsc.edu.
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