Whenever someone asks me of my major, there are several questions that follow my answer: Comparative Literature. The most common questions are “What is that?” and “What do you plan to do with that?” Others have asked “Why didn’t you just major in English Literature?”
I’m happy to answer all the questions because I genuinely love my major, but didn’t realize how much I would fall in love with Comparative Literature until I started studying it.
Source: Giphy
Comparative Literature allows me to read literature from various countries and cultures and draw connections between them. The Department of Comparative Literature at UC Davis describes it as “a global and interdisciplinary study of literature in its original languages and in a variety of media (including cinema, television, fine arts, and much more).”
This major introduced me to a variety of time periods, genres, and authors that I previously didn’t know or appreciate as much as I do now. I’ve been assigned to read everything from the epic poem Beowulf, to a short story from India entitled Punchkin, and most recently, The Fellowship of the Ring. Each course is diverse and covers a wide range of thought provoking literature.
Source: Giphy
Another reason I love my major is because of the incredible professors. I’ve never been taught by people who are so passionate about their subjects. Their excitement is contagious, and makes me more excited to learn. Not only are they incredibly passionate, but kind and encouraging. Every lecture is engaging and every office hours is so insightful and helpful.
Maybe I don’t know what I want to do in the future yet, and that’s okay. As someone who is constantly worried about the future, it’s refreshing to focus on enjoying what I’m doing right now, or to get lost in literature of the past. Some people have assumed that I’m limiting my options by majoring in literature, but that’s far from the truth. Even though I’m not sure what I want to do yet, Comparative Literature is in no way restrictive. There are many career paths available to me through law, education, journalism, and even medicine.
Comparative Literature gave me the opportunity to learn so much about literatures and cultures from all around the world. Making comparisons across different genres, time periods, and cultures makes the world feel smaller and more connected. So many incredible authors made their marks on the world, and that gives me hope that maybe one day I can too.
Source: Giphy
Cover image source: StockSnap