This or That: English vs Comparative Literature

NYU’s Comp Lit program has an interdisciplinary approach to the field, which they refer to as a “dynamic traversal.” The curriculum infuses literary criticism with a variety of theories and disciplines. It is common for Comp Lit majors to incorporate anything from philosophy to linguistics to music theory into their criticism. These approaches are typically framed through a transnational lens. Course offerings include Life in Chinese Lit and Film and Middle Eastern Anglophone Literature.

Because of this international and, yes, comparative, approach to literature, Comp Lit majors often align their studies with translation work and cultural analysis. Graduates often go on to pursue academic careers in graduate studies. Other Comp Lit students work in positions ranging from online poetry journal start-ups to news outlets. 

The English department, on the other hand, investigates how we classify literature and the methods we use to analyze it. English majors immerse themselves in close reading, archival research, and the digital humanities. While English departments tend to focus more on historical and archival approaches, English majors are hardly traditional. As with Comp Lit students, English majors like to push the boundaries of how we classify “literature.”

The department’s mission statement explains that they see literature as “writing in all media.” Students investigate “all the ways in which texts have been produced, reproduced, circulated, and read.” In other words, English majors ask how we classify, write, and publish literature across history.

If you are less of a critic and more of a creative writer, then the English department’s concentration in creative writing might appeal to you. The concentration offers seminars and workshops focused on peer review with top writers. You can finally finish that novel or poetry collection you’ve been drafting in your phone’s Notes app.